Fate of the Force
by lordtrayus
Summary: The death of Jacen Solo and the last war was a disaster. A new force has undone what happened in LotF and given the galaxy a fighting chance against a great evil. By doing so however, the galaxy becomes even more perilous than it was before as the rising power of the dark side and the Sith threatens to snuff out the light of the Jedi, and of the galaxy once and for all...AU
1. Episode I: Entry Crawl

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

**Star Wars: Fate of the Force**

**Episode I: Realisation**

_It is a time of renewal. The Second Galactic Civil War is over, and Darth Caedus, formerly known as Jacen Solo, is dead, killed by his sister Jaina Solo at the Battle of Shedu Maad. The galaxy is unified once more, and the family is trying to put the past behind them and take joy in the raising of Caedus' daughter Allana. However, Chief Daala of the Galactic Alliance wishes to bring charges of negligence and dereliction of duty against Grand Master Luke Skywalker, a move which could prove very dangerous and could undo the tenuous peace formed at the end of the war. As such, and due to the inconclusive end of the war, the galaxy is in a period of transition and is weak, and is thus open to other threats._

_Deep in the Unknown Regions a threat is stirring, a relic of a past war, that is prepared to unleash a new devastating conflict upon the galaxy and restore the dark to dominance. While this threat develops, another threat is hidden on a dark world, watching and waiting the weakened galaxy and getting ready to make its eventual move and return the galaxy to the dominance of evil. But perhaps the greatest threat of all is the one that hides in the shadows, as an ancient, malevolent and powerful force seeks to escape the confines on its prison and unleash its long held wrath upon the galaxy._

_But hope remains, as a benevolent force seeks to undo the great damage done by the recent war. While remaining ignorant of the darkness once more threatening the galaxy, it is aware of the threat from the shadows and seeks to stop it before it can act. As such, one of its members is en route to Coruscant, determined to make things right, despite the risk and hence make the galaxy safe for all. But to succeed, they will need the help of the Skywalker/Solo family, who are still troubled by Jacen's fall. Together, the family and this benevolent force may be able to right the wrongs of the galaxy and perhaps give the Jedi, the Alliance and life itself a chance against the threat that is to come..._

**Well hello!**

**I know I promised to do Charmed, but I just fancied doing the entry crawl to the first part of my new Star Wars story. The events are set two years after the end of the Second Galactic Civil War as seen in the Legacy of the Force series, and just before the start of the Fate of the Jedi series.**

**What are these threats that are stirring? And who is this benevolent force seeking to fix things?**

**All shall be revealed if there is enough interest!**

**Bye for now and please review!**


	2. Episode I: Chapter 1

**Discalimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

The shining of a trillion lights permeated night on Coruscant. On a planet full of people, well over one trillion, their various live never allowed for total darkness on Coruscant.

Coruscant, along with the rest of the galaxy, was on the road to recovery following the latest war. There had been four wars in the galaxy in the last century, and each one of them had an influence on Coruscant of some description.

The Clone Wars, the brain child of the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious, had been fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, who had left the Republic and wished to start a war. The war began with the Battle of Geonosis, but it all turned out to be a trap organised by Sidious in order to lay waste to the Jedi Order and bring about the fall of the Republic, allowing the Sith to rise to prominence and take over the galaxy using the new Galactic Empire. Coruscant had sustained terrible damage during the final battles of the Clone War, when the Separatist warlord General Grievous had attacked the planet in an attempt to capture Palpatine, who used the attack to throw the Jedi off the tail of his Sith alter ego. Following the death of the leader of the Confederacy, Count Dooku, Coruscant watched in horror as the Jedi were exterminated across the galaxy. With their fall, the galaxy fell under the heel of Darth Sidious, otherwise known as Emperor Palpatine and entered a dark age.

Following the Clone Wars and the rule of Palpatine, the Galactic Civil War began. With the death of Palpatine and his henchman Darth Vader at the Battle of Endor, Coruscant became a source of contention due to its status as the homeworld of the Empire and the centre of galactic government for eons past. Ambitious Imperial leaders such as Sate Pestage and Ysanne Isard held Coruscant for as long as possible, but the planet once more received damage during the Liberation of Coruscant by the New Republic, led by heroes such as Princess Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. The planet was further scarred when the Director of Intelligence, Ysanne Isard, had fled Coruscant in her private Super Star Destroyer _Lusankya_, killing millions in the process. The planet withered storms such as the trepidations of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the return of Palpatine and the attacks of the Shadow Academy. The Empire was eventually forced into surrender and the galaxy entered a new era of peace with the leadership of a New Republic and the return of the New Jedi Order under Luke Skywalker.

However, what should have been an era of peace quickly changed into a time of savage conflict. Extra-terrestrial invaders called the Yuuzhan Vong arrived in the galaxy and attacked the galaxy, laying entire planets to waste and slaughtering billions. Noble heroes such as Chewbacca and Anakin Solo both fell in this conflict, and Coruscant itself was viciously attacked and bombarded by the Vong warmaster Tsavong Lah. The planet was totally changed during the Vong forming and was eventually reclaimed by the newly formed Galactic Alliance, and the warmaster was killed by the daughter of Han and Leia, Jaina Solo, while their remaining son Jacen killed the true Yuuzhan Vong overlord, Onimi. The Vong were forced to surrender and were exiled and the galaxy began to recover once more, being more unified than it had been in years.

However, the latest conflict, while the shortest of the last four major wars was also devastating. Jacen Solo, determined to save the galaxy from itself and provide a safe galaxy for his lover Tenel Ka and his daughter Allana to live in, turned to the dark side and became a Sith Lord while yet another civil war broke out, with Corellia and various allies seeking freedom from the Galactic Alliance. Things devolved, and long standing allies of the Alliance found their loyalties tested, such as Han and Leia, while many others, such as Mara Jade Skywalker, the wife of Luke and mother of Ben, was killed by her nephew Jacen as his Sith sacrifice, allowing him to become Darth Caedus. The manipulations of Luke's former lover and Sith, Lumiya, made the war even worse as Jacen took command of the galaxy. Jacen was eventually killed in battle with his sister and the war ended with his death. However, the fact that his family, who were the champions of both the Vong War, the Galactic Civil War, and their forefathers who were two heroes of the Clone Wars, failed to stop him, raised many eyebrows, especially considering the terrible things Caedus had done in the pursuit of peace. Rumour had it that Chief of State Natasi Daala, a former Imperial warlord, was considering bringing charges of gross negligence and dereliction of duty against Luke Skywalker, Jacen's uncle and the leader of the New Jedi Order.

The galaxy was deeply scarred by the various wars that had shaken it, but nothing was more scarred than the Skywalker/Solo family. Losing their much loved companion Chewbacca during the early days of the Yuuzhan Vong War had broken something in the group, and had nearly destroyed the marriage of Han and Leia, due to his grief over the death of his friend, and his unconscious blaming of his son Anakin, who Chewie had died trying to save. Following that, Anakin sacrificed himself to stop the Jedi killing creation of the Yuuzhan Vong, the voxyn, at Myrkyr, and his loss devastated the entire family, and sent his sister to the dark side, especially when her twin brother Jacen was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and incarcerated for a year. The family slowly recovered, despite the fact that Jaina's close relationship with pilot Jagged Fel fell through and the fact that the girl Anakin had loved, Tahiri, was trying to consolidate two different personalities due to Vong shaping. During the Dark Nest Crisis, Jacen and his long term friend Tenel Ka had become lovers, and she had given birth to a child called Allana. It was his desire to protect them that originally sent Jacen to the dark side and left him open to Lumiya's teachings. As part of his ascension to the Sith Lord, he killed his aunt Mara, further devastating the family. His cousin, Ben, who had deeply loved Jacen and had idolised him, eventually found this out and turned on him, after enduring torture at the hands of Caedus. Caedus had also turned Tahiri to the dark side by promising her another chance with her lost love. The entire family was devastated by the events, especially when Jaina had no choice but to kill her own brother. Due to an Imperial plot, Han and Leia then adopted their granddaughter Allana, trying to fill a void left, but it was clear to most of their friends that the most recent war in particular had devastated the family, despite bringing them closer together and fixing Luke's relationship with Ben due to their being united in their grief over the death of Mara.

And observing all this were four forces. One was a force of light, and they had watched impassively from afar, and now, they knew that they had to act, especially considering their recent losses. As such, one of them was even now on Coruscant and just waiting for the right time to act.

Another force was powerful, ancient and dark, even more malevolent than Palpatine, Caedus or Vader had ever been, and it sensed the weakness of the galaxy and the Jedi Order. Its prison had been broken, and it was now preparing to unleash itself on the galaxy. And it sensed that it's time was close, where it would finally escape its final shackles and devastate the galaxy.

One of the threats was situated deep within the Unknown Regions, and was a relic of the Yuuzhan Vong War. A fleet of ships awaited orders and the opportune moment to strike, and once again unleash the devastation of war upon the galaxy, and it too perceived that its time was closing in on the Jedi and the Alliance.

And the final threat was hidden by the miasma of dark energy on the planet Korriban. A new order was rising, under the leadership of a new leader, which threatened to challenge the Alliance, destroy the Jedi and once more bring the galaxy back to a state of tyranny and plunge it back into darkness

While these four forces prepared to make their move, Chief of State Daala was preparing to make her own move against the Jedi Order, which had sat complacent since the end of the Second Galactic Civil War, and end their free reign from government affairs, and also bring the charges against them that she so longed to, due to the death of her old friend Gilad Pellaeon during the war at the hands of Tahiri, and the fact that the Skywalker/Solo family had allowed one of their own to turn to the dark side and once again plunge the galaxy into bloody chaos.

XX

A small, triangular ship was approaching slowly Coruscant, and had been cleared for a landing. It was red and white, a fighter from another time, and its occupant was looking out musingly at the planet below him as he approached a planet he had not set foot on in decades. It was imperative that he succeeded in what he had come here to do. The entire galaxy depended upon it. And as such, he had to get to work. Gunning his engine, he headed for the planet surface.

XX

A residential apartment had its light dimmed as Coruscant slept. The apartment was set at the top of a high tower, and the only one moving about was C3P0, the Solo family's loyal golden covered protocol droid. As he dealt with various details that he didn't want Han getting in the way of, the three other occupants of the house, Han and Leia Solo and their granddaughter Allana slept.

Han Solo had originally been a smuggler for people such as Jabba the Hutt before he had agreed to take his brother-in-law, Luke Skywalker, and the Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi to Alderaan. From there, he had rescued a princess, and had become a leading member in the Rebellion against the Empire. After the defeat of Warlord Zsinj, he had married Princess Leia, and together they had three children, Jacen, Jaina and Anakin. After that he had still fought against the embittered remnants of the Empire, and had redeemed Kyp Durron from the dark side and had fought against his cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo and his plans for Corellia. After the signing of the Bastion Accords, Han had then been thrown into the Vong War. He lost his best friend, Chewbacca, who died to save his son Anakin, and that hurt his relationship with his kids, Anakin in particular who believed Han blamed him for the Wookiee's death and with his wife, who he didn't see for months while he had mourned his friend. They had then lost Anakin during the mission to Myrkyr and Jacen had been captured by the Yuuzhan Vong while Jaina had turned to the dark side. Jacen led the galaxy to victory over the Vong and the galaxy had entered a time of peace. However, Han's belief that the Corellians should be independent split the family, and his remaining son Jacen had turned to the dark side and had had to be killed by their daughter Jaina. Now, he and Leia took joy in raising their granddaughter, Allana, the child of Jacen and the Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka.

Princess Leia Organa Solo was the daughter of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Naboo's Senator Padme Amidala. When her father turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader, Leia and her brother Luke were split up and hidden from the gaze of the Empire. Leia was raised by a colleague of her mothers, Bail Organa, and Leia grew up to become a leader in the rebellion. Forced to watch as her planet was destroyed by the first Death Star, she became a leader of the New Republic after the death of Palpatine, and led the New Republic through various crises such as the Black Fleet Crisis and the Almanian Uprising. She eventually retired from politics before the Vong War, and endured the loss of Chewbacca and her son Anakin, and was the only one who believed that her son Jacen was still alive after he was captured by the Vong. With the end of the Vong War, Leia stood by her husband when he decided to support Corellia. When her son Jacen fell to the dark side, she considered him her greatest failure. Following the end of the last war, she adopted her granddaughter Allana and raised her at the wishes of her mother Tenel Ka.

Allana Solo was the daughter of Jacen Solo and his Hapan Queen lover Tenel Ka. Conceived during the Dark Nest Crisis, she was a target for her spiteful grandmother Ta'a Chume before a brain haemorrhage rendered her brain dead. She grew up in the Hapan court and loved Jacen's visits to see her. When Jacen fell to the dark side and became Darth Caedus, he started to scare Allana as the war progressed. When the Jedi rescued her from her clutches she met her grandparents for the first time, and after an Imperial attempt on her life which she was saved from by her father, she was adopted by her grandparents to protect her from the Hapan nobles.

However, while two of the occupants of the house slept soundly, one did not. Leia was thrashing around in her sleep as dreams disturbed her rest.

"_Mom, wont you help me?" a voice asked her desperately._

_Leia looked around to see her son, younger than he was when he had become Darth Caedus, but he still had the same feeling of sadness he had had since the end of the Vong War. He was still full, still whole, and he was still Jacen, her little boy, not the tyrant he had become in the name of ensuring peace throughout the galaxy._

"_Jacen...what?" Leia asked, fighting down the wave of tears that materialised._

_This was the boy she loved, not the Sith Lord who he became, not the murderer who killed innocents and murder one of her best friends and tortured her nephew and forced her daughter to kill him, this was Jacen, the boy who had loved to play with animals, the boy who had spent a lot of his time trying to get Tenel Ka to laugh, the boy who had loved to get into mischief with his sister. And now that she saw him, the keen pain of loss she felt, and also guilt, ripped through her, and she had trouble staying on her feet._

"_Mom, help me!" he called urgently._

"_Jacen, you're..." Leia said softly, not wanting to hurt her child._

_But then a dark spectre appeared behind him, one wearing a triangular headdress and with piercing green eyes._

"_Lumiya!" Leia spat angrily._

_Lumiya was an apprentice to Darth Vader, and had infiltrated the Alliance and had made Luke fall for her before revealing her true colours and getting shot down. She had presented several threats before she had disappeared, and had returned to make the Second Galactic Civil War worse. She had been the one who had lured Jacen to the dark side, believing he was destined to be a Sith Lord, and he had become Darth Caedus not long after Luke had killed her in a final duel when she had taken the blame for killing Mara. _

"_He's mine now Leia..." Lumiya purred evilly._

_Leia ignited her lightsaber while Lumiya reached out to Jacen, and took his shoulder and started dragging him backwards. He looked at Lumiya as if he trusted her, but then he looked to Leia with panic and fear in his eyes._

"_Mommy, help!"he cried, tears in his brown eyes._

"_Jacen...I will save you!" Leia promised as he and Lumiya got further and further out of reach._

_Lumiya gave an evil cackle._

"_No you wont Leia...you've already given up on him. And so he had no one left but me. You wont save him from me. This was his choice. But you made it so much easier for him to make it. And now...he is...MINE!" Lumiya rasped gloatingly, and they disappeared from sight, with Jacen still crying for his mother as they were swallowed by shadows._

"_No!" Leia yelled._

And she suddenly jerked awake, sweating. Leia panted in shock, trying to return her breathing to normal as she recovered from her dream. This was the third one this week, it was getting ridiculous.

Leia looked down at Han, who was snoring loudly. Leia rolled her eyes. Typical, he never did wake up until morning. She wondered if she should one day set off a thermal detonator to see if it would wake him up. Sighing irritably, Leia got on her slippers and left the room, checking to see if Allana was sleeping alright in her own room. Confident everyone else was asleep, Leia headed to the kitchen, intent on making herself a cup of hot chocolate to help her sleep.

The dreams had been sporadic at first after Jacen had been killed by Jaina. They had just been dreams about him being killed by his sister, and sometimes ones where he killed her. There were also ones were Jacen morphed into Palpatine, while Ben had been present and had turned into Vader.

But recently, the dream she had just had had been the norm. Dreams where something got to Jacen, or he was begging for her help, and she couldn't or wouldn't give it. Leia sighed as she stared into her mug. Perhaps this was guilt. Her subconscious was crying out to her as Jacen, the last child she had lost, and was making her feel guilty for not trying to save her child. Jacen was always the one out of the three she had been closest to, well, he had been closest to her out of her and Han, and he had once been like her in so many ways. And now her guilt was coming to get her.

There was a whirr of servos from behind her and she turned to see Threepio approaching.

"Oh Mistress Leia, did you have another dream?" he asked sympathetically.

Leia sighed and looked at the droid. He had been through so much in their family, and he had always been at her side bless him. And he genuinely cared for the entire family. And due to him doing things like the ironing so that Han wouldn't tease him for being a housewife droid during the middle of the night, he knew about her dreams, and curiously, Leia always felt better after talking to him.

"Yes Threepio. Another dream about Jacen. This time, Lumiya was there, and she dragged him away from me, all the while, he was crying out for my help." Leia said sadly as she sat down in defeat.

These dreams had been disturbing her for weeks, and in the last week they had become nightly.

"I'm sorry that these are disturbing you mistress Leia. Would you like me to send for a doctor?" Threepio asked, and Leia shook her head.

"No thank you Threepio. They're just bad dreams, and my guilt over raising a Sith Lord torturing me. There's nothing we can do except hope that they go away." She said sadly, sipping her chocolate.

Threepio looked at her, wishing he could help his mistress. He had made enquiries, but he wasn't sure if she would go for it, and there was a good chance she would be offended. But he was only trying to help and stop his mistress having these bad dreams so she could get on with her life.

"Well mistress Leia...I made enquiries, and if I may make so bold...I took the liberty of provisionally booking an appointment with a counsellor." Threepio said hesitantly.

Leia laughed slightly as she looked at her faithful droid.

"You think I need a shrink?" she asked in amusement.

"Well mistress Leia, I see that you haven't had any sleep, and it purely out of concern for you that I have done this, but it seems to me something over the fall of master Jacen and his death is making you lose sleep and is possibly putting your health at risk. I'm only concerned for your well being my lady." He said earnestly.

Leia grinned.

"Oh alright Threepio, I'll go to see the shrink, if only to stop you worrying. But not a word to Han, Luke or Jaina, or I'll never hear the end of it. And under no circumstances do you tell Ben, because if you do the entire Order will know by tomorrow teatime." She warned.

Threepio did seem pleased.

"Very well mistress Leia, I'm so glad that I could be of assistance. His name is Dr Jempa, and he comes quite highly recommended." He said happily before tottling off.

Leia smiled to herself as Threepio left. He was only concerned for her. But considering everything she had been through over the years, the fact that she was only now seeing a shrink was actually quite remarkable. If Han found out, he would be insufferable. But, if seeing a shrink stopped these dreams about Jacen and perhaps helped her deal with everything else, it was worth a shot.

XX

Leia slipped out of the apartment, telling Han that she was going out shoe shopping. As such he had immediately given a whoop of joy, as because he was forewarned it meant that he did not have to go, and happily proceeded to play the Xbox with Allana, who then of course proceeded to beat him soundly.

Leia left early in order to buy a new pair of shoes, which she actually did need, and then headed to the place where she was to meet the counsellor. Trepidation was high in her stomach as she approached the office, not sure how she felt about talking to a complete stranger about her problems. And also, the fact that Jacen had been widely vilified following the end of the war in the media, it meant that her counsellor was very likely to be very resistant to her problems, and probably even more of a hindrance than a help. But, she had promised Threepio she would go, and if it did give her a chance, she would take it. She owed it to herself. After sacrificing so much, including her two sons, for the greater good, she felt that the galaxy, and the Force, owed her a little something in return.

She entered the room, and saw only the receptionist, a small mousy woman with red curly hair and glasses smiled at her.

"Ah hello there. Go right through, Dr Jempa is waiting for you." She said kindly, nodding through.

Leia smiled sweetly as she went past, then leaned against the desk.

"I'll give you a hundred credits not to tell anyone." She said conspirationally.

The woman smiled.

"Dont worry I'm bound by the law not to tell anyone about who's here. I take it you didn't want your husband to take the mick?" she asked shrewdly, grinning as she did so.

"No I didn't. My daughter would also find it hilarious, and if my nephew finds out the entire Jedi Order will know by sundown. So thank goodness you're bound to secrecy. But if this helps me get a night's sleep, I'll try it. And besides, I owe it to my protocol droid." She said with a wink.

"You're welcome. Go on through." The woman said and Leia headed on through.

Leia entered the room to see it was modestly appointed. Rather than the long couch she had expected, the room actually had several comfy looking armchairs.

Leia then looked at the occupant of the room. He was an aging Whipid, with long white hair receding from his forehead. He had a fierce look in his eyes, but at the same time he managed to look quite friendly and kindly. One of his tusks had been sheared off, leaving only a small stump behind, and looking at it, Leia suspected the accident that had claimed it was involving either a vibroblade or worse.

"Ah, Princess Leia, welcome to my humble abode. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said, and shook her hand, quite gently for someone so large and intimidating.

"Thank you for seeing me Dr Jempa. This was my droids idea...but I really would like a to sleep the night again, so here I am." Leia said, putting down her shopping as the aged Whipid sat in a comfy looking chair behind a desk.

"Please." He said, indicating an armchair that was facing him and was also closest to the table.

Leia sat in the chair directly opposite the Whipid, and he settled into his chair.

"We shall get started as soon as Betty comes through with the tea." He said soothingly.

Leia sat in silence. He seemed nice enough, but the proof was in the pudding. And she sincerely hoped that what Betty had said about them being unable to say anything due to an oath was true. And she also hoped that Jempa would be able to help, because she was incredibly tired and could really use a good sleep.

Betty came in with a pot of tea, milk and sugar, with two cups and a plate of chocolate digestives. As she left, Jempa poured the tea, and gave Leia her cup and he sat back, peering at her intently while sipping his tea.

"So Princess, what can I do for you?" he asked.

Leia sighed as she sipped her tea. Now that she was here, it didn't seem like such a good idea. But, she had promised Threepio, and she really did need a good nights sleep.

"Well firstly, please call me Leia. And I suppose I'm here because I keep having...dreams." she said.

Jempa sat forward in interest.

"Indeed? Dreams you say? What sort of dreams are they?" he asked interestedly, making some notes.

Leia looked at him, and found herself relaxing. He seemed like someone she could trust, and Leia decided to give it a stab.

"Well they're about my son...Jacen." she admitted sadly, looking at Jempa for any sign of what he felt about her sons fall to the dark side.

"Ah I see. Well firstly we must ascertain what these dreams do. Are they threatening? Is he Darth Caedus in these dreams, or is he the son you raised and loved?" Jempa asked shrewdly.

Leia looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to know that sort of thing. He was good.

"Well in the dreams, he's the little boy I loved, not...not the man he became." She admitted.

Jempa nodded and sipped his tea.

"Very well. How long have you been having such dreams?" he asked.

Leia thought about it.

"Well, I've been having dreams about Jacen since the end of the war, but only recently have they become like they are...him begging for my help." She told him, feeling a block on her heart unwind as she talked about her problem to the aged Whipid.

Jempa sat back and steepled his fingers.

"How do these dreams make you feel? What happens in them exactly?" he asked.

Leia sipped her tea.

"Well in them Jacen's more like he used to be...young, loving, sweet...and he's begging me for my help. In the other ones, he's just been steadily getting away from me, and I couldn't catch up with him no matter what I did. Sometimes Anakin, my son who died during the Vong War, has been with him, and he's been pulling him upwards. But last night's one was different. This time it was Lumiya, the one who made Jacen into a Sith. She dragged him away...and all the while he was begging me to help him." She explained.

Jempa nodded dolefully.

"Indeed. How do these dreams make you feel exactly?" he asked curiously.

Leia got up and walked around a little bit. Talking to this old Whipid was actually a lot easier than she had imagined it would be. So, figuring she was committed, she went on.

"Well...I feel sad obviously, because regardless of what he became..." she said nervously.

Jempa looked at her kindly.

"My dear girl, I know all about Jacen, and I know he was not always the evil tyrant he became. He was once a fine young man, and a fine young Jedi. What he became is immaterial to me. I shall remain objective on the entire affair." He said soothingly, but there was a flicker in his eyes that made her think that he wasn't exactly telling the truth about being objective when it came to her formerly dark son.

"Well...aside from that, I feel...guilt." she said hopelessly, deciding just to play it by ear and see if Jempa would later become less than objective to the situation.

Jempa nodded compassionately.

"A common emotion upon the death of a child. You feel guilty because you could not save him, like you feel guilty that you could not save Anakin." He said.

Leia shrugged.

"I suppose it could be survivor's guilt." She admitted, thinking that would explain a fair bit.

She felt guilty because she had outlived two of her children, two of her sons. She was still alive, when her two youngest kids, one of whom she had always been the closest to, were dead. She had survivor's guilt. But...now she came to think of it, that didn't explain her dreams.

"But, that wouldn't explain my dreams..." she said slowly and turning to face him, and Jempa clapped his hands in delight.

"Excellent! Now we get to the heart of things. You notice that while you do possess a certain bit of survivor's guilt, it is not that guilt that is making you have these dreams about Jacen. So, together, let us figure out the true cause of your guilt." He said excitedly.

Leia smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"You enjoy your work don't you?" she asked, sitting back down and smiling at the counsellor.

"Indeed I do. So together my dear lady, let us cast ourselves into your mind, and see if we cant find the root cause of all your troubling dreams." He said kindly.

Leia thought about it. It was to do with the fact that her son had fallen to the dark side. And the fact that he had died while doing it. And no matter what Jaina said, Leia didn't know if he could have been, even for a moment, the boy she had loved.

"Well, it might be because I think he died as Darth Caedus, rather than Jacen. Jaina says he was alerting Tenel Ka to a threat, which is something Jacen would do, but I'm not so sure. I would like to think he died as Jacen, but at the same time that would mean admitting that..." Leia tailed off, her throat becoming constricted with sadness.

"That you failed to save your son?" Jempa said musingly, and Leia nodded, tears in her eyes.

And no matter what way she looked at it, she had failed him. She had failed to save him from the dark side, and she had failed to save him from death. As such, she had failed him completely.

"Yes. I failed to save him from Lumiya, and he fell to the dark side and I failed to save him from death, and his own sister killed him. And now, looking back on it, if that is the thing that is giving me these dreams..." she said softly.

"Yes?" Jempa encouraged.

"Then perhaps we all should be having them." She stated boldly.

Jempa smiled in delight.

"Indeed. And what makes you say this?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye, that looked suspiciously like pride.

Leia got up again, and leaned her head against the cool class of the window as she looked out at the Coruscant cityscape. She wondered if what she was about to say was true, and if it was, should she really be telling it to Jempa? But, ever since Jacen had fallen, a small part of her had acknowledged this fact, and had been afraid to voice it, because she knew that if she said it out loud, it would open a wound across the entire family.

"Looking back...we could have done a lot more. We knew he was going dark, and...we could have done more to try and save him. Fair enough, a fair bit of it was up to him, and he was too powerful and clever to fall to the dark side unless he really wanted to, but...a certain part of me thinks he hated what he felt he had to do, and maybe wanted the chance not to do it...and we didn't give it to him." Leia admitted, her secret fear finally coming to the surface.

"You don't think you did enough to try and save him, you feel you and your family as a whole could have done more to save Jacen from falling to the dark side?" Jempa asked.

Leia nodded sadly, tears in her eyes.

"Hmm. I must admit, that is a fair judgement." Jempa said.

Leia started. It was one thing to admit it herself, it was quite another thing entirely to hear the counsellor say it. What did this guy know about the Force, and the redemption of people who had fallen to the dark side? Leia could feel anger rising in her. Yes, she knew in her heart that the family hadn't done all that much to try and redeem Jacen, but this counsellor had no business telling her that.

"Excuse me?" she demanded angrily.

Jempa leaned back and looked at her keenly.

"I have watched your family for a very long time Princess. I watched your father, and I watched you and your brother, and I've also watched your three children and your nephew. And when I saw Jacen sliding towards the dark side, I was surprised by the lack of effort to try and redeem him." He said.

His voice wasn't harsh or critical, but it wasn't sympathetic either. In fact, if there was any emotion in his voice at all it was disappointment rather than anything else.

"What do you know about it?" Leia asked defensively.

It was one thing to admit it within the family that they all could have done more to help Jacen, but this counsellor wasn't even part of the family, and who was he to judge on how well they had tried to save Jacen?

"You forget, I have been watching you for years my dear lady. Your brother redeemed Darth Vader, one of the most evil Sith Lords in history. I just expected that your family would work harder to redeem one of their closest members, rather than just sit back and let them fall." Jempa said slowly.

Leia looked at him angrily.

"We...it's none of your business." She said angrily and picked up her bags.

Jempa nodded dolefully.

"Very well. I can see that you are angry. Come back tomorrow if you wish. We still have a lot to talk about." He said as she headed for the door.

"Dont count on it." Leia said waspishly and slammed the door as she left.

Jempa leaned back and smiled. He had rattled her cage, and despite her less than polite exit, he knew she would be back. When she calmed down and admitted that he had a point, she would be back. And then they could get on with the serious job of saving the galaxy.

His holo flickered to life to reveal his female counterpart.

"How did it go?" she asked.

Jempa smiled.

"We connected. We got on quite well, and she admitted she could have done more to save Jacen. But when I agreed she got a bit irate and stormed out." He said simply, filing his nails as he did so.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a good sign? Surely if she's so angry about the truth..." she said, sounding uncertain.

"Dont worry my old friend. We'll get through this, and I suspect she will be back, armed with an apology as well." He said confidently, knowing that he had chosen the right one to attach to.

"I hope you're right." She said, sounding worried.

"How's it going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in concern.

"It's getting harder. The earthquakes are getting worse. We're running out of time." She said, looking scared, and her holo rocked a bit.

"Just hang in there. Eventually Leia will find the strength to do what must be done, and then we can go about saving the galaxy." He said certainly.

"Good. May the Force be with you my dear." She said kindly, smiling at him as she vanished.

"And you." He said, as the holo flickered off.

Jempa leaned back. Leia was the only one who could do this, and the only one who could lover her son enough not to let his plan bother her. All he had to do was guide her to the right path. And soon.

**Well here we are, the first chapter. I'll admit now that not much happens in this section, but the action starts to come along in the next segment of the story.**

**Is Leia right to feel guilty over Jacen? Could the family have done more to save him before he fell? Will Leia perform as Jempa expects? Who is Jempa talking to? And what is this threat the two of them are worried about?**

**All will be revealed soon!**

**I hope you enjoyed this, and be warned...there's lots of family bashing later on as I personally believe that they didnt do enough to try and save Jacen. Fair enough, you could understand Luke not trying as he killed Mara, but the others just sat back and let him fall and were all too eager to sanction Jaina's mission to kill him. In other words, there will be lots of me venting in coming chapters ;)**

**But aside from that, please read and review!**


	3. Episode I: Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

Han winced as Leia stormed in. Whatever had happened on her shopping trip had infuriated her, and he was wisely keeping out of her way until she decided she wanted to talk about whatever had happened. However, he was still quite thankful that Allana was staying with Jaina tonight, as his granddaughter was still very frightened of anything that could be associated with the dark side.

Threepio looked on, and knew that Leia was mad because of something that had happened at the counsellors. Which meant he would probably get the blame. Again.

"Hey Goldenrod, can you figure out whats wrong with Leia?" Han asked as he set the table.

"I believe its my fault Master Han. I made an appointment for her to see a counsellor because she's been having those dreams about Master Jacen." He admitted.

Han looked at the droid in confusion.

"She's been having dreams about Jacen? How don't I know this?" he asked, perplexed how something like this could have escaped his notice.

"Well if I may say so Captain Solo, you do snore very loudly. You probably didn't notice that she was awake." Threepio said soothingly.

Han glared at the droid, but headed through to Leia, who was finishing the salad for their dinner.

"Do I snore loudly?" he asked grumpily.

Leia turned and looked at him and raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"Yes you do." She said then headed through to the table with the salad.

"Do not." He said childishly, sitting down opposite her.

He looked at her penetratingly as she served salad onto both their dishes. Even after all these years she was still as beautiful as she had always been. And close to, Han could see that she was upset by something.

"Threepio told me that you went to see a counsellor about the dreams you've been having." He said gently, though quite willing to use the salad bowl to defend himself if she threw something at him.

Leia narrowed her eyes irritably.

"Damn droid, I'll get him for that. It was his idea anyway." She said grumpily, stabbing a tomato.

"I never even knew you were having dreams." Han said, feeling a bit guilty.

Leia smiled gently.

"Dont worry Han, the _Lusankya_ could erupt from Coruscant again and the noise wouldn't contend with your snoring." She said, winking at him.

Han looked at her grumpily.

"Cheeky devil. Well why didn't you tell me you were having these dreams?" he demanded.

"Well I didn't want to worry you, and in case you haven't noticed, we try to avoid talking about Jacen. I didn't want to open that can of worms all over again." She said, avoiding his gaze as she chased some cucumber around her plate.

Han sighed.

"Leia..." he said, as if to tell her off, but figured it would be better not to, she looked miserable as it was.

Threepio bustled through with the washing, and Leia glowered at him as he passed. She knew it was only a matter of time before Han started to take the piss.

"So what did the shrink say thats upset you?" he asked as he helped himself to some coleslaw.

Leia sighed.

"I said something about my feelings about what happened with Jacen, and Dr Jempa just...agreed with me. He raised a point that I've had before...and it just hurt more hearing it from someone else. And he says hes been watching us for years, which is slightly concerning..." Leia said, hoping to lure Han down the tangent she was laying.

But he was far too wily for that.

"What did he say?" he asked, wondering what a harmless shrink, which he would undoubtedly slag her about later, could have said to upset her.

"Well...I said that it was guilt that was causing my dreams. I said that we could have done a lot more to try and stop Jacen going to the dark side. And Jempa agreed with me. It's just that which set me off. Because...its true. We knew Jacen was going dark, we all did...and we did nothing."

Han looked at her, and said nothing. But, she saw a flicker in his eyes, and she knew that he felt the same way. After all, he had been the one who had redeemed Kyp Durron when he had turned to the dark side under the influence of long dead Sith Lord Exar Kun. But he hadn't even tried for his own son. It was a good thing Jempa hadn't mentioned that, or Leia might have snapped.

Because the Whiphid was right. Luke had redeemed Darth Vader of all people, but had even tried for his own nephew. Fair enough, after he had killed Mara he might have been justified, but before...and Leia didn't do anything at all, and neither did Han, even when he had saved Kyp.

The two of them ate in silence, both of them keenly aware of what was on the others mind...did they really sit back and just let Jacen fall? Were Leia's fears justified and was Jempa right, could they have done more?

After the dishes were cleaned away, Han sat down beside Leia and sighed.

"Let's face it...we didn't do much when Jaina fell to the dark side either did we?" he asked sadly.

Leia looked at him. Jaina had fallen to the dark side during the Vong War, as Anakin had just died and Jacen had been captured by the Vong. And, Leia supposed, Han was right, and once again they hadn't done very much to try and save her either, and she had only been redeemed by Jag and Kyp.

"Do you reckon we're bad parents, or is it just that the dark side is too much for our family?" Han asked gruffly, hiding that he was upset.

Leia stood up and looked out at the lines of traffic outside their apartment. Fear was clawing at her heart, which after the death of two of her sons, was very tender. Anakin had been killed by the Yuuzhan Vong, and instead of pulling together as a family after Jacen had returned, they had in fact drifted apart, and both Jaina and Jacen had fallen to the dark side, Jaina only temporarily, but for Jacen, it had proved his undoing, and his parents, who were meant to love their son no matter what, had actively condoned the mission for their own daughter to kill him.

"Maybe. Han...I want to go back to see Dr Jempa in the morning. But, I really don't want to do it alone. Will you come with me?" she asked, looking to her husband for support.

Han looked at her. While he would normally be opposed to seeing a shrink, Leia needed him if she was to get rid of her dreams. And if as Leia said this Jempa fellow had been watching the lot of them for years, he might be able to help them address the question that he had just raised. They owed it to Allana, to Tenel Ka and even to Jacen to make sure they were the best parents possible so they could raise her well.

"Alright, I'll come. I'll ask Jaina to keep Allana a few more days." He said, and went to make the call.

Leia sighed and turned back to the window, tears creeping into her eyes. They owed it to Allana to find out if they were good parents. And to Jacen and Anakin.

XX

They arrived early the next morning. Han had to admit it was a nice enough looking place. Leia entered, and found that Betty wasn't at her desk. Deciding to take a chance, she tentatively knocked on Jempa's office door.

"Enter!" he called, and smiled as he saw who it was.

"Ah, Princess Leia, I'd hoped you would come back. And you have brought Captain Solo too, how delightful. It is a pleasure to meet you Captain Solo, your exploits are after all, legendary." Jempa said, getting up and shaking his hand.

"Um...thanks..." Han said, a tiny bit flattered but mostly just thrown by such a warm welcome, considering Leia had described her less than polite exit yesterday.

Leia, who was quite ashamed of her behaviour from the day before, opened her mouth to apologise, but Jempa raised a hand.

"Oh no, we say nothing until Betty comes in with the tea." He said kindly, tidying his desk.

"But how does she know to bring two extra cups?" Han asked in confusion.

Jempa chuckled slightly.

"I just had a feeling you would be back is all." He said mysteriously, a twinkle in his eye.

Leia arched her eyebrow slightly. She had a reading on him through the Force, and he seemed genuine enough, but something made her think that there was a lot more to the good counsellor than met the eye.

She and Han were sat today on a two seater couch, which was in front of Jempa's desk, whereas the seat she had sat on yesterday had been moved to the other side of the room. Was he just going on a hunch, or had he truly know they were coming? Leia shook her head at being so jumpy. He had probably just decided to do a bit of redecoration in his office.

Betty came through with the tea, complete with a plate of custard creams today, and as Jempa poured the cups, Leia leaned forward slightly.

"Dr Jempa, I owe you an apology. I was very rude yesterday...I flew off the handle and I shouldn't have." She said sheepishly, but Jempa waved his hand idly.

"Oh it does not matter a bit Princess. When dealing with issues that are rooted within the family, one is expected to get a bit defensive. Now then, as I have the pleasure of both of your company, I am assuming that you are here to chew something over yes?" he asked keenly, sipping his tea.

Han looked at Leia, and she nodded, and after a sip of tea he began.

"Well last night, after she came home from seeing you, we got talking about whether or not we could have done any more to save Jacen." He said, and Jempa raised an eyebrow.

"And what did you think?" he asked leadingly.

Leia and Han both looked down in shame, and Jempa didn't press the point and simply nodded.

"I see." He said simply, helping himself to a biscuit.

"And we also figured that when Jaina fell to the dark side during the Vong War, we also didn't do much to bring her back. It was Kyp Durron and Jag who did it." Han said.

Jempa smiled.

"This is good, you are identifying other places were you fell you didn't do your best to save very powerful Jedi from the pull of the dark side. However, in Jaina's case, I will be a bit less harsh as you had just lost Anakin and Jacen had been captured. And while your actions during Jaina's fall are important, we are mainly focusing on the fall of Jacen. And as you suspect Princess, I believe that it is a large part guilt that is giving you these dreams. So, in order to free you of these dreams, we must together identify the root of all these problems." Jempa said eagerly, ready to begin.

"Well isn't that obvious? She's guilty because she doesn't think we did enough to save Jacen from falling to the dark side." Han concluded, and Jempa conceded the point with a nod.

"Exactly. But I think that over our sessions, in order to give you both some peace of mind, we must delve into the reasons Jacen fell so hard and so fast to the dark side." He said gravely.

"Alright." Leia agreed, glaring at Han to stop him arguing.

"But let us first address the problem that brings both of you here. I must say Captain Solo, I hadn't expected to see you in our sessions." Jempa admitted, and Han looked sheepish.

"Well, we were wondering if we're good parents." He said sadly.

Jempa nodded gravely.

"I see. Well let us look at your three children. We shall begin with Anakin. Do you consider yourselves good parents to him?" he asked curiously, gesturing and inviting them to speak.

Leia looked at him pointedly.

"He's dead. If anything else means that we're a failure as parents is that we let our little boy get killed." She said, the pain that still crushed her heart threatening to choke her.

Jempa nodded, and raised a finger to his lips.

"Perhaps in some cases that could be seen as being a failure as parents. However, Anakin died in the most devastating and brutal war the galaxy has ever seen, and he died to save the Jedi. You weren't even there on the _Baanu Raas _and as such could do nothing to save Anakin. Anakin gave his life for a cause he believed in, and that is by no means a poor reflection on you. In fact, the fact that he decided to sacrifice himself so selflessly is actually a sign that you are good parents, because you did very well when you were instilling values into him. I know because he is dead it doesn't seem like you were good parents, but you were." Jempa said compassionately, and despite the fact that Anakin was dead and she shouldn't be feeling that, her heart felt a little lighter

"And for Jacen and Jaina..." Han said, looking nervous.

"Well, is there anything you would have done differently with their childhoods perhaps? I know they were separated from you for their first few years and entrusted to the care of Winter. Was this a good idea? After all, toddlers do an incredible amount of bonding with their parents in their early years. Perhaps their absence from you was in fact counterproductive?" he asked musingly.

"We did that because Luke says as youngsters they would be more susceptible to falling to the dark side." Han said, then realised that Jempa was about to jump on that statement like a Star Destroyer coming out of cloak.

"And he is quite right, babies are susceptible to using their powers for evil, and the frequent attempts to nab them in their childhood may have encouraged such behaviour. However, as I'm sure you realise, removing them from you to stop them falling to the dark side didnt do them any good in the end now did it? After all, they both did fall to the dark side later on. So could you have done anything different with their childhoods?" he asked.

Han and Leia looked at him, not happy to admit that he had a point.

Leia then seriously thought about it. She and Han, and even Luke, hadn't liked the forced separation from the kids, but it was actually quite useful, considering the ones who had come after them.

"Well we both didn't like the fact that we had to be apart from them but we did it to protect them. Thrawn, C'baoth, Furgan, Hethrir, Palpatine, all of them were after them, and them being away from us let us protect them better because we could just focus on stopping them so that they would be safe." She explained.

Jempa nodded.

"Indeed. Now...you were apart from your kids in order to protect them, as a parent is meant to do. So aside from being with them a bit more, you could not have done anything differently, and the reason you weren't with them was a desire to protect them. Actually, did you know that that was the final matter that drove Anakin Skywalker to the dark side? He was terrified of losing his wife and his children, and so he was all the more susceptible to Palpatine's manipulations." Jempa said mysteriously.

"But whats that got to do with Jaina and Jacen falling to the dark side?" Han asked.

"Because I was wondering if that that is the same reason Jacen fell to the dark side...a desire to protect the woman he loved and his young child." He said significantly.

Alarm spread through the two of them. No one bar their closest family were meant to know Allana's true identity, and the fact that Jempa did smacked of danger and trouble. Han levelled his blaster at Jempa in a flash, and Leia brought her now glowing blue lightsaber to the front of his long snout.

"Ah, lets not be hasty. I told you I have been watching you. Only myself and my partner know of Allana's true identity. Her secret is quite safe." He soothed, and Leia nodded to Han and lowered her saber, while he lowered his blaster.

The two of them sat back down looking at Jempa suspiciously.

"So you came here to find out if you were good parents, good enough to stop her from falling in her father's footsteps? To do that, you must find out what truly began Jacen's fall to the dark side." Jempa counselled.

"Well that was Lumiya obviously." Leia said, her anger still not quite abating so her voice was incredibly harsh.

"No Princess. She started his fall to becoming a Sith, but it is my opinion that he started heading to the dark side long before that." Jempa said gravely.

Leia opened her mouth to argue, but Han put a hand on her arm.

"No, he's right. If we want to blame anyone for starting Jacen off going dark, we blame Vergere." Han said.

Jempa clapped his hands in delight.

"Bravo Captain Solo! We are getting there slowly but surely. This is good. We are getting to the heart of the problem now. Come back tomorrow when you've calmed down, and we shall continue our discussions." He said cheerily.

Leia nodded, and rose, and headed for the door with Han.

"And tonight Princess, consider this...perhaps darkness is in your family's genes, considering your reaction just now." He said mildly.

Leia hissed slightly and she headed out with Han following in her wake.

"Am I the only one who is concerned that he knows about Allana?" Han asked quietly.

"No. I think we can trust him, but...we should keep an eye on him just in case." She said suspiciously.

XX

"He knows about Allana?" Luke demanded worriedly, looking concerned.

"Yes, apparently hes been watching us for years, but he doesn't say how or why he's been doing that. He was apparently watching Vader before he turned to the dark side as well." Leia said sceptically.

The three of them were eating a stew that Han had made. Jaina was going to the cinema with Allana, and to protect her integrity, as several men had made a pass at her recently despite the fact that she was armed with a lightsaber, Jaina had asked Ben to come along as backup. However, Leia suspected the young Jedi Knight's real reason for going wasn't as much gallantry as it was the promise of an ice cream afterwards, but she had decided not to call her nephew on it.

"You reckon he's trouble, or he just knows a bit too much then?" Luke asked.

Leia looked at her brother, pondering his question. He had gotten more careworn, and his hairline was beginning to recede. And there was a sadness in his eyes that had haunted him ever since Jacen had killed Mara.

"I think he knows a bit too much. He doesn't seem dangerous, and if he was going to use that information against us he'd have done it, because if as he says he has been watching us, he might very well have known since Allana was born. And it cant be for blackmail, because he does seem genuinely to want to help me." Leia reasoned.

"Which means he'll probably want your help in return for something else." Han said darkly, not fully trusting Jempa although he did have to admit that the Whiphid seemed alright.

Luke pondered. Sometimes fairly benign people had a habit of being quite treacherous...they only had to look at Palpatine's example to know the truth of that. And, he supposed, Jacen too to a certain extent.

"So, we leave him alone for the time being. Are you going to keep going?" Luke asked his sister, his brow furrowing.

"Yes. I would really like to sleep again...and the feel I'm getting from the Force is that I should do. I think it's important." She said.

Luke sighed. While he did not particularly want to dwell on the subject of Jacen's fall, as he did feel incredibly guilty, and incredibly sad about it at the same time, he realised that it would do them all some good to talk about it.

"I still don't get why you didn't come to me." He said instead, and Han nodded.

"Or me." He agreed.

Luke and Leia both looked at him and giggled.

"Han, a World Devastator could park right outside the door and you wouldn't wake up." Luke said with a smile, and Han short him and his sister a dirty look.

"Anyway, ignoring Sir Sleeps a Lot over there, I didn't tell you because every mention of Jacen brings us back to Mara." She said sympathetically, and Luke looked down sadly.

Luke sighed, then looked at her.

"So, you reckon he might be able to help you?" he asked, glossing over the mention of his wife.

"Yeah, I reckon so. He's actually quite insightful, and he enjoys his work, so I'm giving him a shot. He said that we have to try and figure out where he began to go dark." Leia said, cleaning away the plates.

After dinner, they continued the discussion, Leia over a small brandy and Luke and Han over a whisky.

"Well I reckon he began to go dark when he started listening to Vergere. Fair enough, she might have given him everything he needed to survive his capture by the Vong, but she changed him, and filled his head with that Unifying Force crap." Han said, scowling irritably as he whirled his whisky over the ice.

Luke nodded.

"Yeah I suppose she probably did have a big part in starting him off. Older Jedi didn't like that philosophy much, and Jacen adhered to it like glue, and it didn't help that I advocated it for five years. He just became more and more focused to save the galaxy he...lost sight of his goals, and he lost his way. She might have helped him survive, but she ultimately started him off on the road down the dark side." Luke said, but he knew there were other things at play in Jacen's fall.

Leia sipped her brandy.

"Last time I saw Tahiri, she said it matters when Jacen broke. I reckon he broke the same time she did...when Anakin died. He lost his little brother, and that loss, and his capture by the Vong immediately after it, meant he couldn't sort through it and depend on the rest of us to get him through it. And he became a lot more cynical after that, a lot less interested in stuff, less interested in everything, a lot less...Jacen. He wasn't as happy after that, it woke him up to the realities of the galaxy. But it woke him up too much." She said sadly, tears brimming in her eyes again.

Luke nodded. He felt they both had a point, and had identified when it happened, but Luke suspected that there was a bit more to it.

"Are you going back tomorrow?" he asked curiously.

Han nodded.

"Mind if I tag along?" he asked.

"No, feel free. Bet you he has a three seater in front of him tomorrow." Leia told Han with a small smile.

Luke looked out at the sky. He resolved not to mention this to Ben. It would only upset him. But, he felt also that there was a reason Leia was going through with this. But what was it?

XX

Deep in the heart of space, a Yuuzhan Vong Miid Ro'ik cruiser was slowly travelling between the stars. It was in the MZX32905 system, and it was slowly approaching the shattered remnants of an asteroid base.

The cruiser was called the _Dark Emissary_, and was part of the only fleet that had not followed the Sekot Accords on the orders of their leader, a mysterious Yuuzhan Vong female. The true Supreme Overlord Onimi had had his puppet Shimrra force Tsavong Lah to grant her the fleet, and it had been hiding out between the stars these past thirteen years. It was quite sizeable, and soon now, they would be able to strike.

"Domina, the site has been destroyed for quite some time." Her captain reported.

The woman frowned. She had warned Lumiya that using the treacherous Jacen Solo would be her undoing. And it was most unfortunate that the Home had been destroyed. She could have used it. Not to worry. She would just need to attack in another way. And once she found a way to destroy the Jeedai, the galaxy would be hers. Nothing could stop the Yuuzhan Vong fleet under her command from seizing her birthright and retaking the galaxy that that fool Onimi had lost them at the final hour. And when word of her victories spread, the Yuuzhan Vong on Zonama Sekot would rush to her banner, and she would be the Supreme Overlord of a new Yuuzhan Vong empire that would subjugate this miserable galaxy once and for all.

She turned to her captain, her lightsaber clacking against her waist as she did so.

"Very well captain. I'll have to think of something new. Set a return course for the _Baanu Venxis_. The Yuuzhan Vong leadership and the Sith Order are both tied up in my person. It is time to restore both to dominance. Spread the word throughout the fleet when we return...our time has come." She said, her plaeryin bol widening as she turned back to look out at the stars as the ship headed for the worldship that they called home.

Soon, these stars would be hers. Lumiya and the traitor Jacen Solo had done a fantastic job of weakening the galaxy with the Second Galactic Civil War. Now, she would emerge from the shadows, and finish their work and restore the Sith to dominance. The fact that the Yuuzhan Vong would also return just made it all the sweeter.

She began to laugh evilly as the ship lanced forward as the dovin basals focused on the worldship and heaved the ship into lightspeed.

**Here is the next chapter, and sorry its a little short.**

**So now we are exploring the place where Jacen began to fall to the dark side. Which of these is the true one, and what does Luke have to add? But more importantly, who is this mysterious Yuuzhan Vong woman, and what is her insidious plan for the galaxy? And just how big is her fleet?**

**I told you there was more to Jempa than meets the eye. What is his secret? Who is his partner? Why is he helping Leia with her dreams?**

**All will be revealed soon! I hope you are enjoying this story, and the action will start soon I promise once we get into Episode II. **

**And here is something to whet your appetite for the next chapter: Dr Jempa passes judgement!**

**Until then, please read and review!**


	4. Episode I: Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

The next morning, the sun shining in the sky and despite the fact that they were slightly apprehensive about these discussions with Jempa, they cheerfully headed to his office. Luke was going along as well, because he was quite interested to find out who this fellow was, and how he knew so much, they headed once more for Dr Jempa's office. Luke was quite impressed as they entered, and they saw Betty typing away at her station.

"Good morning. Dr Jempa will be with you in a moment, he's had to nip out to the shops. There was a distinct lack of tea, the damn cleaning droid saw the box and dumped it." She said irritably.

Luke smiled slightly. He had seen Han go a day without his usual morning cup of coffee, and he supposed tea could be a substitute for some people, so not having it could only make people incredibly grumpy, as Han proved when that happened. They had barely sat down in the waiting area when Jempa came bustling in, a bag of teabags in one hand and another bag in the other.

"Good morning Betty, we have tea, get the kettle on quick, I'm gagging for a cuppa. We also have cakes today, I felt we deserved a treat, particularly since Captain Solo is getting on so well in our discussions." He said, inclining his head to the group, who hadn't realised that he had seen.

"You got us cakes?" Han asked, confused.

"Yes. I suspected you are a maple and pecan swirl man if that's alright." Jempa said as he went through to his office, beckoning them to follow him as Betty headed off to make the tea.

"Um, yeah, they're my favourites...how did you...?" he asked, thrown as to how the large gentle Whiphid seemed to know what sort of cake to get him.

"And I suspect that Princess Leia was a gingerbread man sort of lass, and I suspect that Master Skywalker here is partial to a fudge doughnut." Jempa said, smiling up at Luke.

Luke, Leia and Han looked at each other in shock. Not only was he good at realising their problems to do with Jacen's recent fall to the dark side, and not only did he know Allana's true identity, he also knew what their favourites cakes were. And as Leia looked around the room, and to the seat in front of the desk, she saw that she had been right the night before. The three seater sofa was now in front of Jempa's desk. Leia looked at Jempa, and a thought began entering her mind. He himself had admitted that he had been watching their family, and that he had watched their father. Was it possible that he was perhaps a Jedi, at some time during the past, perhaps before the Great Jedi Purge? That would certainly explain how he always seemed to know exactly who was coming and how insightful he was if nothing else. She looked at her brother, but her brother was fixing Jempa with a penetrating blue gaze as he pottered about at his desk, and finally sat down.

"Please." He said, and they sat, Leia in the middle, with Han on her left and Luke on her right.

"So..." Luke began, but Leia smiled slightly and shook her head.

"We don't get down to business until after Betty has brought through the tea." She said, and Jempa chuckled.

"Yes, I feel a good cup of tea makes for much better conversations." He said, and wrote something on a small notepad.

Han craned his neck slightly, wondering if these were the notes about them, because now that he came to think about it, he hadn't actually seen him make any. However, he was sorely disappointed because all it said was 'must get sugar'. Jempa chuckled slightly as Han sat back, disappointment on his face.

They sat in silence, and Leia looked into the morning sky. The sun was just coming over a cloud, and she wondered if it was an omen of her dreams finally starting to go away. Because, she was beginning to think that a large part of her problem was that she didn't understand why Jacen had done what he had done. However, her dream the night before had been just as vivid as the other ones.

The dream had begun not long after the Shadow Academy had reared its ugly head. Jacen had captured a large Corusca Gem from Lando's GemDiver station, and when he had seen Leia next he had offered it to her

"_Here mom, this is for you." He said proudly, presenting her with the large stone._

_Leia gasped. Her son this time was fourteen, full of love, life, with a zest for learning and a fondness for animals. He wasn't at all Darth Caedus, or anyone remotely resembling the Sith Lord he had become. So, going with her gut instinct, she decided to repeat what had happened when he had first presented it to her._

"_Jacen honey, its beautiful. But I cant accept it." She said gently._

_Jacen looked slightly hurt, as though he was worried his mother didn't like her present. She smiled and hugged him tenderly, and although it was only a dream, she savoured the touch._

"_It's not that I don't like it. But I think you should keep it. I'm flattered you think I'm worth that, because let's face it, that's probably worth as much as that junkpile your father calls a ship, but I think you should keep it. Call it a feeling from the Force, but I think you'll be quite pleased you kept it one day." She said, as it had in fact become the crystal in his lightsaber._

"_You think so?" he asked curiously, cocking his head in the way he always had when he asked a question._

"_Yeah I do. And you've already been through a lot with it haven't you? Think of it as another one of your pets if you want, ok?" she asked, smiling at her son._

"_Ok, sure." He said, smiling happily, and Leia kissed his forehead._

_But then he had suddenly changed before her eyes and had become how he was just before he had become Darth Caedus, his eyes haunted by his past and looking sad. He was older now, more jaded, and he had already endured the tortures of the Vong and the riddles of Vergere, and all this was even before Lumiya had gotten her claws into him._

"_Here mom, this is for you." He said once again, still proudly, smiling at her in a way that he hadn't since the Vong War, presenting her once again with the gem._

_Leia looked at him in shock. By the time he was on his way to becoming Caedus, his saber had had the gem in it for years._

"_Jacen, you cant give me that, its part of your lightsaber." She said worriedly, wondering what was going on, why his crystal wasn't inside his saber and why it wasn't staying there._

_Jacen looked down sadly, looking hurt, as though upset that his mother didn't want his gift._

"_Ok, if you don't want it..." he said sadly, and turned away from her, a tear in his eye._

"_Jacen..." Leia said pleadingly, then stopped short when she saw who had just entered her dream._

_It was Lumiya, complete with triangular headdress and she was smiling underneath her veil, and in Leia's book that could only mean she was up to no good. And as a smiling Sith was never good news, a smiling Lumiya was even worse._

"_Here Lumiya, this is for you." Jacen said, presenting the stone to her, using the same proud tone he had used with his mother._

_Lumiya took it and actually looked genuinely pleased that he had given her the stone. She then hugged him slightly._

"_It's beautiful Jacen thank you." She purred, and Jacen hugged her fiercely, a smile like the one he had just given Leia on his face, happy that she had liked his gift._

"_No wait, you're a Sith, she's using you Jacen..." Leia interrupted, angrily, angry that Lumiya was once again taking her son from her._

"_The stone is now mine Leia, when it should have been yours. And so is Jacen." Lumiya said in evil delight, and put her arm around Jacen's shoulder and started leading him away from Leia._

"_Jacen, no, don't go with her!" Leia yelled desperately but he was already becoming eschewed by the shadows._

"_Why not mom?" Jacen asked sadly, his eyes full of pain._

"_She's evil!" Leia cried, igniting her saber to attack Lumiya and save her son from her evil Sith clutches._

_Lumiya gave an evil cackle._

"_Really? At least I wouldn't order the death of my own child." She purred triumphantly, and Leia stopped short, while Jacen looked down, hurt by the news that his own mother had sanctioned the mission to kill him._

"_Bye Leia." He said, his voice full of tears as he called her by her name rather than calling her 'mom', and she could see that he was hurt, very hurt._

"_Jacen, no, I love you!" Leia yelled, but he didn't hear her._

"_Come on mom, lets go." He said to Lumiya, and she shot Leia a smug look and gave an evil cackle as she and Jacen had disappeared into the shadows._

Leia resolved to talk about it with Jempa, but first they had to go to the place he wanted to go to with his discussions today. As such, they sat in silence until Betty bustled in, with two trays, one with the teapot and four mugs, and one with their cakes, along with a chocolate éclair and a vanilla slice.

"Ah thank you my dear. Enjoy your éclair." He said, and she smiled before heading out with her bun.

After he had consumed his vanilla slice, and all of them their buns, he sipped his tea and fixed them with his gaze. Luke, who had been studying the aged Whiphid intently, sat back. The room was moderately comfortable and in soothing tones, designed to bring out the best of what people thought. But Luke couldn't shake the feeling that the place was relatively new, and as he hadn't seen anyone else, and neither had Han or Leia, he was beginning to think the place had been made into a counsellors primarily for them. Which he didn't know if it boded good or ill.

"So Master Skywalker, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. I have watched you a very long time, and I must say, I am fairly impressed with what I've seen." Jempa said, including his head gracefully as he shook Luke's hand.

"Um, thank you, I think. Nice to meet you too." He said, and the two sat back down.

"So you have joined us for these sessions. This is good. The more perspectives we get the better. Now, yesterday we began to discuss the point where Jacen started to go dark. So, what do you have for me?" he asked, sipping his tea and looking eager to get started.

Han cleared his throat, and sipped his tea before meeting Jempa's gaze.

"I reckon it was because of Vergere. He...changed after his time with her. She got him to follow her obscure version of the Force and he got convinced by it, and the way he went about things became a lot, well, darker." Han said reluctantly.

Jempa nodded in thought, going along with what he was saying.

"Yes, that is indeed a good point. Vergere was once a Jedi of the Old Republic. However, her views were always considered...unorthodox by the Jedi Council, and she was even more of a maverick than Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Her mission to Zonama Sekot before she joined the Yuuzhan Vong also introduced her to the Potentium view of the Force, which even Yoda described as heretical. And the fact that she was apparently a Sith..." he said, but Luke cut him short.

"What, Vergere was a Sith?" he demanded, wondering how they could have missed that during the war.

Jempa shrugged his large shoulders, gesturing with his hand as he did so.

"We don't know. Lumiya certainly told Jacen that she was, and that made him all the more eager to listen to her, but...while some of her acts were certainly very questionable, the fact that she believed in the Unifying Force, which in the past has led Jedi to make some controversial decisions, such as that of the Jedi Covenant, I do not believe she was a true Sith." Jempa elaborated, though he looked unsure, and Leia privately felt that even if she was, they would never truly know either way.

"But surely if she was a Sith, they'd have felt it?" Han demanded angrily, pointing at Luke and Leia. And if Vergere was a Sith, it would make sense that she would be setting Jacen up for a fall to the dark side eventually.

Jempa raised a cautionary finger, and Han simmered down a little.

"Your problem is that your views of the Sith are measured by Darth Sidious. Not all Sith were truly evil, or even truly with the dark side, such as Darth Traya. And anyway, if she was a Sith, she had to have been one when she left the Republic, meaning she would have had to have learnt from Sidious, and trust me, he was all too good at hiding his true nature." He said bitterly, and Leia's suspicions of him being a former Jedi were further aroused.

Silence reigned for a moment as all of them thought about it, and Jempa, and Luke as well, seemed to both be in deep contemplation. As Leia expected, Han's patience evaporated first.

"So, you agree that Vergere did start him off?" he asked.

Jempa sat back, his index fingers held against his lips.

"Yes, I admit she probably had something to do with it. However, on the other hand, Vergere did give Jacen what he needed in order to survive his torture at the hands of the Vong, and gave him the insight and power he needed in order to destroy Onimi. So she cant have been all bad." Jempa pointed out, taking a sip of his tea.

"Yeah, but she was setting him up to become a Sith eventually surely?" Han asked.

"But what's the point in getting him to save the galaxy and destroy it with another war later on?" Leia countered, and Jempa smiled.

"Good, debate is good. It will help us go places. Hmm, Vergere is an odd subject I feel. One that will require a long bit of thought on. So Princess, while we wait for that particular branch of enlightenment, perhaps you'd explain your views." Jempa invited.

Leia sipped her tea, then prepared to recall some painful memories.

"I think Jacen started going bad when Anakin died. Before then, the three of them were still relatively innocent but were still being pulled along by their destinies. Then, the Vong War started. They lost Chewie, and they lost a fair bit of their innocence when that happened. And the war got steadily darker, and Jacen...he was horrified when Tsavong Lah attacked me on Duro. He started to lose his faith in the good of the galaxy, and then Anakin was killed at Myrkr. I think thats what started him down it. He lost his little brother, and he knew things weren't the same anymore. He started to become more driven to protect the rest of us, and like you said yesterday, that might have been what convinced him to do what he did. And because he was captured right after Anakin died, he couldn't sort things through with everyone else like we could...and he didn't get a chance to...say goodbye." She said tearfully, remembering that Jacen hadn't been at Anakin's funeral.

Jempa nodded dolefully.

"Perhaps you are onto something there." He said musingly, then motioned for her to continue,

"Well, during the war, when we talked to Wedge, Wedge told us that every animal he saw had the face of a voxyn. When Anakin died, he lost a lot of the things that made him Jacen, and Vergere definitely didn't help him much. And he became less interested in all the stuff that he did, because I think he was doing it because he felt he had to, rather than wanting to like when he was a little boy. I reckon he broke the same time Tahiri did...when Anakin died." She said sadly.

Jempa pondered this.

"Yes, I must say, that is when his actions started to become a lot more questionable. After his capture and his apprenticeship to Vergere, it was when he started to believe in the Unifying Force. Perhaps he was a lot more open to it because of the loss of his brother. I believe we are in the right time frame for when he started to go dark. As such, now that we have that, we will have to examine where he was the most likely to accept the path of the Sith. However, first Master Skywalker, I would hear what you have to say on this subject." Jempa said.

Luke sighed.

"Well I think both of those things did affect Jacen and start him off heading towards the dark side. But, we are also to blame. When Jacen and Vergere came back from Coruscant during the war, we were all happy to have him back and all that, but we knew what sort of stuff had happened to him under the Vong, and he even told us what sort of stuff she had done with him. We never actually checked to see if he was alright. He was back and relaxed, but he had been tortured for weeks. I know Han still dreams about Nil Spaar torturing him. Jacen had been tortured by a species that value pain above all else, and we never actually made sure he was alright, and that he had recovered. And then, after he saved us all from the Vong, he went off into the galaxy. We shouldn't have let him. After what he went through, what we all went through, Mara's illness, his torture, Ben withdrawing from the Force, Jaina's fall, losing Anakin, losing Chewie, we shouldn't have let him go. We just welcomed him back, celebrated the fact that he was alive, but we never actually made sure that he was _alright_. And then we let him go off into the galaxy, and he decided to be alone. We shouldn't have let him go, we should have kept him with us, so we could all recover after what we'd all been through." Luke said.

Jempa nodded, stood up and began pacing, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Perhaps you are also right young Luke. However, after he returned with Vergere, Jacen didn't seem like he _needed _help. He'd become tougher, more self reliant, as she had taught him. However, Jedi work better together, so what she was up to there I don't know." He conceded.

Leia looked at the large kindly Whiphid and sighed.

"Luke is right. We may have been delighted to get Jacen back. But we didn't try to get my son back, and that's the main difference. He was still Jacen, but he wasn't my son anymore. We just let him become the new version of Jacen, the one who had been shaped by Vergere. We didn't try to get _our_ version back." She lamented, and the three looked pensive as they contemplated this.

Jempa turned to them, looking up from his pacing.

"Indeed? Perhaps you are on to something more than you thought my fine young Jedi. Perhaps because he _wasn't _the boy you all loved anymore, things began to change." He theorised.

Leia looked downward. If she was right it would certainly fit in with her dream from the night before.

"How do you mean? We still loved him when he came back from his journey." Han said, looking slightly insulted that Jempa was insinuating that they had stopped loving him just because he had gone off for five years.

Jempa raised a finger.

"Bear with me Captain Solo. I am not suggesting that you stopped loving him then, what I am saying is that perhaps your relationship with him changed." He said significantly.

"What do you mean by changed?" Luke asked, his eyes narrowed, not in suspicion, but in worry.

Jempa sat back down and clasped his hands in front of them, making his fingers into a steeple as he looked at them intently.

"When Jacen came back, he had changed. There is no denying that. He was more...well arrogant for a start, which is never a good quality for a Jedi and can lead down the dark path, but that's not what I'm getting at. He was more, otherworldly, more mysterious, than he had been, more reserved. Consider Luke, how much of his apprenticeship did he spend having philosophical debates with you about the nature of the Force? He was also far more open with you Leia, and he was a lot more like you when he left, even after his torture, but that had changed. And even you Han, he may have had his disagreements with you, but he still loved you, but he didn't talk to you as much. He had changed, and I think that made it more difficult for you to connect with him. You still loved the man he was, but not necessarily the man he had become, and I think perhaps a part of him felt, I don't know the right word, perhaps, hurt is the right word...?, that his parents and closest family members didn't love him the way he used to." Jempa elaborated, and Leia had to admit, that would probably fit in with her dream from the night before.

Luke looked confused.

"But what...?" he asked, looking bewildered.

"Well, look at you and Mara's relationship with Jacen. When he returned, neither of you trusted him like you used to, especially when Ben started hanging around him. Jacen was around you two for a long time, and you lot not trusting him probably hurt. Yes, he was a grown man, but children never stop loving their parents and loved ones and wanting the same love back I suspect...present company excepted of course." He added hastily, as Leia and Luke both looked stern.

Han looked thoughtful.

"That's an interesting point actually. He became harder to talk to, like he was always concerned with something else. Maybe we did accidentally hurt him." Han theorised, and Jempa nodded.

"As he hurt you. He didn't talk to any of you about his plans for the Killik War, and did any of you ever actually hear about what he did on his travels?" Jempa asked curiously.

Leia thought on this. Now she came to think about it, they hadn't really gotten much of his travels around the galaxy, only little bits at a time, never the full story.

"Exactly! He had clammed up from you. He might have been hurt, but so were you. Neither side is guiltless here." Jempa said.

"Even Jaina..." Leia said wonderingly, and Jempa cut her off with a low growl, that made them all jump slightly.

"You think Jaina is part of this?" Han asked.

Jempa narrowed his eyes grumpily.

"Oh yes. Jaina in my opinion has rather a lot to answer for." He growled.

"How do you figure?" Leia asked, concerned as to what he viewed as Jaina's problem, and as he scowled, she felt a shiver of repressed anger.

Whatever Jempa had to say about Jaina, she knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Consider, Jaina and Jacen used to do everything together, they were nigh inseparable, they were each other's best friends for all their early years. However, during the Vong War, Jacen withdrew from their Force bond to stop Jaina coming after him, and he continued to do it to protect her throughout his imprisonment. She did it to stop him finding out that she had briefly fallen to the dark side. And then they continued to hide, but it was still there. Until the Killik Crisis. When Jacen attacked Supply Depot Thrago, she began to cut off their bond, which was different from hiding from it, as you know."

"Well he did precipitate a war. We were all a bit taken aback by that one." Han reasoned, and Jempa nodded in agreement.

"Correct. While I personally feel he did the right thing, and I know full well that several Jedi also think that," he said, sending Luke a significant glance, and received a reluctant nod, "Jaina cut off her bond because she was bug lover at the time. She had become a Joiner, and so she was furious that he had betrayed them. But even after, she didn't bother trying to restore their twin bond to what it once was. And do you recall when she began to cut it off completely?" he asked.

Leia tried to think, but Luke nodded.

"Yeah. She cut it off when he became the leader of GAG." He said.

Jempa nodded.

"Correct. But it wasn't on a moral issue that she disagreed with what he was doing. She did it because she was annoyed that he had become a colonel straight away, whereas she had had to work to attain the rank. And that was when she cut it off completely. Not for a moral reason, not for a good reason, but because she was being childish and foolish. She was annoyed and started trying to pull out of it when she was a Joiner, and then she cut it off because she spat her dummy out." Jempa said harshly.

"Hey, wait a minute..." Han began, but Leia raised her hand and he went quiet, but he was still glaring at Jempa.

"And believe me, I have known the realities of a high military position. They aren't fun, as you and Luke may be able to attest Han." He said, inclining his head to them both, and they both nodded.

"Don't get me wrong, I think Jaina is a lovely young lass. However, I think she should have a serious think about her priorities." He growled.

Silence met these words, and Han and Leia were both struggling to hold back a vehement retort. Luke however, had a look on his face that meant he could only be considering what Jempa had said, and that he suspected the Whiphid counsellor may even have a point.

"Anyway, the deterioration of their twin bond may very well have been the reason that Jacen began to turn to another source of comfort, someone who still trusted him, and his relationship with hadn't changed in anyway." Jempa continued.

"Well ours..." Leia said, deciding to ignore the slight against Jaina.

"Yes, but you did become more distant. No one is to blame, I think it's just human nature, and his sojourn didn't help much either. But, his relationships with you weren't the same as when he left, and yours weren't the same with him. Hence his closeness to Ben I suspect. Ben was too small when Jacen left to have any clear memories of him, and so he could love him for the man he had become during his long absence. In Ben, Jacen saw a sort of surrogate brother, someone he could relate to without any great expectations, and someone who trusted him implicitly and loved him for who he was. And in Jacen, I think Ben saw someone he could look up to, someone he could strive to be like, a hero, a sort of big brother and a playmate that he hadn't had before then." Jempa said, and Luke did have to admit that before Jacen had gone dark he actually was good for Ben.

"So he pulled away from us, like we apparently pulled away from him, so he went to Ben for comfort?" Han asked.

Jempa nodded eagerly, pleased that they were getting his point.

"Perhaps he was trying to fill the void left by Anakin's death by bonding so much with Ben. He grew more distant with all of you, with his new approach to things and his new beliefs, and so he bonded with someone else to make up for this. Young Ben. And he continued to remain close to him throughout the war. You know Luke, that Ben was incredibly loyal to Jacen, and for all his flaws Jacen did also love Ben just as much as he loved Tenel Ka and Allana. I believe Jacen was so desperate to turn Ben to the dark side because he didn't want to lose his love for him...which he lost anyway when he found out it was him who killed Mara. I think Jacen must have felt very alone in the final days of the war, hence some of his rather questionable acts later on, which I will not utter here. Jacen didn't want to lose Ben, and perhaps in his mind he didn't want to lose another little brother, and someone he loved as much as his own daughter and lover. He was afraid of losing Ben and I think that's why he was so determined to make sure Ben fell. However, as we know, that plan didn't work, and perhaps that is for the best."

They went silent. At first, Jacen and Ben's relationship, despite Luke and Mara not being entirely enthusiastic about it, had helped Ben come out from his Force withdrawal, so much so that Mara had defended Jacen to Luke in the early days of the war, even when she didn't like his methods. And both Leia and Mara had thought that their relationship was quite sweet at first. As such, Leia wasn't that surprised that Jacen had loved Ben as much as he had loved his daughter, and that did perhaps explain his need to turn Ben. He had loved Ben, enough to try and make the galaxy a safer place for him as well. And that, Leia supposed, was pure Jacen, trying to protect the ones he loved. Perhaps...perhaps Caedus wasn't the great evil everyone thought he was. Yes, his actions had been horrific, but his intentions, and his goals had originally been good. He had wanted to make the galaxy a safer place for the ones he loved. Yes, he had become an evil monster, but he was still, in his heart of hearts, her son, the kind boy who would do anything for the ones he loved. But that knowledge just made everything he had done harder to accept. Or did it?

He had done things that they would never be able to forgive him for, murdering Mara and torturing Ben, but ultimately he had brought the galaxy together, unifying it in a way that it hadn't been since the Vong War, and the galaxy was actually now a lot safer. And no matter what he had done, he was her son...and even now she loved him. Looking back at Jempa, she saw him wink slightly.

"Oh good lord look at the time! I'm sorry, I really must dash." Jempa said.

"Eh?" Luke asked, coming out from his reverie as they all thought on what the counsellor had said.

"I'm sorry, I have a doctor's appointment that if I miss my counterpart will skin me alive. She says I have high cholesterol and need to lose weight, which as she is a plant based lifeform is a bit rude. It's alright for her, all she has to do is sit in some soil and she's happy. Me, I have to eat. Old bat." He grumbled, though Luke could tell that he did actually care a lot for his mysterious partner.

"So do we come back tomorrow?" Han asked as he stood up, while Jempa collected his briefcase.

"Yes, please feel free. I think now that we have ascertained the places Jacen started to go dark and their influences, and that your relationships with him changed, hence why he was so determined to turn Ben to the dark side with him. Now however I feel we must find where he marked the transition from, shall we say, morally ambiguous Jedi to Sith Lord." Jempa said, lifting a large conical straw hat from his hat stand.

Leia and Luke both stood up as he got the last of his things.

"Um before you go, can I have a word, in private?" she asked, glancing guiltily at Han and Luke, who looked at her in concern.

"Certainly, if it's quick. Go away you two." He said good-naturedly, and the two left his office, looking disgruntled.

Leia sighed as he collected his coat, which looked a lot more like a robe than a coat.

"I had another dream last night. When Jacen was a little boy, he offered me a Corusca Gem that he caught at GemDiver station." She explained.

Jempa laughed.

"Yes I remember that place, doing that was rather fun." He said, grinning.

"Well, at the time, he had just escaped the Shadow Academy using it, I said for him to keep it, and he eventually put it into his lightsaber. That's what the dream was last night, he was the same age he was when he offered it to me before, and I told him the same thing I did then. Then, it changed and he became the one he was just before he fell and offered it to me again, and as it was meant to be in his lightsaber I didn't take it. Lumiya appeared and he offered it to her and she took it instead, and when Lumiya told him I'd sanctioned the mission to kill him, he called me Leia and her mom, and left with her. What do you reckon it means?"

Jempa pondered, leaning his briefcase on the desk as he did so.

"Perhaps the gem in your dream represents his love for you. I suppose during the war before Luke killed her, after you and Han withdrew from him, Lumiya was the closest thing to a mother he had. And possibly it represents what we were discussing earlier, that his love for you might have changed, but he still offered it to you. Perhaps the dream represents a fear that you rejected his love for you, and that's what drove him towards Lumiya." He reasoned.

Leia frowned.

"I still loved him. And I still do." She admitted, and Jempa smiled and clapped her shoulder with his large hand.

"And that my dear is what I am counting on." He said kindly.

Leia smiled. Maybe she did fear that, and maybe Lumiya had loved Jacen in her own way, and perhaps he had loved her back. But Leia would always love him in a way she could never understand. Because he was her son, not Lumiya's. And she knew Jacen would always love his family more than any Sith. After all, wasn't that the reason he had become Darth Caedus?

"Now, I really must dash. Now, where's my hat?" he asked, and proceeded to put on another hat on top of the one he already had on and walked out the door.

"Cheerio!" he called as he departed, and Leia left his office, to see Betty, Han and Luke looking out the door after him in bewilderment.

"He just went out with two hats on didn't he?" Han asked.

Leia nodded, looking unfazed.

"And you trust him to be a counsellor?" Luke asked, as they waved goodbye to Betty and left.

Leia nodded. There was just something about Jempa. Yes, he knew far more than he should, but he was incredibly insightful, and maybe a tiny bit eccentric, but Leia felt she couldn't have a better counsellor...not that she would mention it to Threepio. She did trust him. But she wanted to see if her brother shared her thoughts.

"I'm beginning to think he was a Jedi at one stage." She stated as they headed for the speeder.

"Yeah, so am I. Maybe as far back as the Clone Wars." Luke agreed as he and Han got into the front of the speeder.

Han looked sceptical.

"He must be really old then, because if I read what he was saying about Jaina and the GAG thing right, he must have been a general during the wars, which means he must have been at least twenty odds when the wars began." He reasoned.

"Maybe. Whiphids are relatively long lived species, it's possible." Leia said as they drove off and saw Jempa get onto the bus.

"I'll have Tionne look into Old Republic Jedi, see if she can find a Whiphid Jedi. I reckon you're right, we can trust him. But if he is, why has he appeared now, and helping us talk about Jacen?" Luke asked.

"He'll want something." Han said grimly.

Leia smiled at her husband's cynicism, but did have to admit that he probably had a point. And as whatever he was truly after had obviously gotten an old Jedi out of retirement, it couldn't be any good for anyone concerned.

XX

Loneliness. She had been so alone, for so long. But, recently, she had been able to extend her will beyond the confines of her own planet, and of the Maw Cluster. And what she felt intoxicated her. She could feel Force presences, both light and dark out there, in the wider galaxy. And she wanted them. Soon, she would be free, and they would be hers. And all those she had touched during the chaos she had felt would soon return to her.

The presence she had felt ten years ago, the shining, intense Force presence that had reawaken her hunger and had whetted her appetite once more, was gone. But there were others like him. And she would soon escape, and consume those she felt in the outside galaxy. Her will and hunger would not be denied.

Soon, Abeloth would be free.

XX

"He reckons now we need to find out when he started to become a Sith. And, we figured that you probably know that best kid." Han said as Ben sat down.

It had taken them a while, but he and Leia had eventually persuaded Luke to involve Ben in this. After all, in the final days, even when he was a Sith apprentice, Jacen was still closer to Ben than anyone else. And whether he liked it or not, the entire family needed to find out where they went wrong with Jacen and put their consciences to rest. And also Leia wanted to know why Jempa was interested in her most of all, and also why he had come out of retirement, because she knew that something big must be in the offing for him to have come out of hiding.

Ben looked at them sadly. Yes, he hated Jacen for what he had done and what he had become, but he still recalled the other Jacen, the one he had loved, the one he had wanted to be like, the one he had idolised. And a small part of him, the part that wasn't devoted to hating what Jacen had done to him and his mother, slightly missed him.

And he could see the pain in his Aunt Leia and Uncle Hans' eyes, and he could also see the determination and the lack of understanding in his fathers, and he knew that if he could do anything to make them feel better, he had to do it. Jacen, and his mother, had taught him that since day one.

"I reckon he started thinking something else needed to happen when we attacked Centerpoint the first time. I mean, all that happened was that it devolved into another war, after we'd not long had the Vong War or the Killik War. We attacked first, and let's face it, the government should have known what Sal-Solo would do, and that he'd create some way to fight back. He may have been an idiot but he wasn't stupid. And an act of aggression like that would only make things worse not better. Maybe if we'd done what I said, gone in and kidnapped him, or dealt with him quietly, we might not have had a war, and the Corellians would have been seen as the aggressors." Ben stated.

"The Corellians..." Han said, but Leia cut him off with a glare.

"Dont start Han. You knew as well as I did that the Corellians were just being stubborn. And the fact that it was Thrackan who was in charge of them should have meant that we didn't get involved, but we did. And I doubt his own parents being on the opposing side did much for Jacen either." Leia said irritably.

"Yeah but the Alliance was exploiting them." Han argued.

"Perhaps Han, but what the Corellians wanted was outright extortion. We were trying to rebuild the galaxy, and they were content to just let everyone else struggle along. Maybe, in hindsight, Ben was right. We should have gotten rid of Thrackan the dirty way. I'm not saying it would have stopped the war, but it might not have gotten so bad." Luke said sadly.

Han looked grumpy, and Leia rolled her eyes and ignored him. She should have put her foot down and said that they shouldn't have gotten involved. No wonder Jacen had fired at them during the Battle of Hapes. And with Sal-Solo in charge, things were always going to get out of hand. After all, he'd kidnapped the kids before hand during the First Corellian Crisis and had tried to use them to control Centerpoint to destroy other worlds in the Starbuster Plot, so they should have known that as he was quite capable of committing genocide, he would have no qualms about taking Corellia into a full scale war. He couldn't be trusted. Mind you, they had just elected Admiral Daala to become the head of the Galactic Alliance, so maybe they couldn't judge...

"Ben?" Luke asked in concern, as his son seemed to be very far off.

"Oh, sorry dad, I was just thinking...a lot of that time, Jacen really did miss Tenel Ka and Allana. I think that might have been part of the reason...yeah, he wanted them to be safe, but he also wanted them to be with him. I think it hurt him, because he was definitely in love with Tenel Ka, and he loved Allana, and so I reckon that when he became Chief of State and when the war ended, I think he would have wanted to be with her." He concluded, looking faintly sad.

"I can sympathise with that." Luke said in a sad voice, and Han looked at him sympathetically.

"You reckon he was lonely?" Leia asked.

"Probably, especially after Ben found out who really killed Mara, because we all disowned him. And remember what Jempa said, he did something when he was alone that he didn't want us knowing." Han said.

Leia frowned. She had a sneaky suspicion that she knew what Jacen had done, but a part of her could understand it. He had no one left, and the love of his life had turned on him, taking his daughter with her, and his family had also turned their backs on him. He had no one left to turn to. And if he had done what she thought he had done, the one he had done it with, he probably had loved on some level, but she had to face facts, the person hadn't been right since Myrkr, and if he had done what she thought he had done to win their loyalty, it would probably confuse their feelings intensely.

Ben gave a sigh.

"I reckon he turned for the right reasons, if you can do that. He turned to protect us all and give us a better galaxy to live in. He wanted the people he loved most in the galaxy, Tenel Ka, Allana, me, you guys, all to be safe and not have to fight another pointless war anytime soon. And I think that's why he wanted to turn me to the dark side so much, because aside from Tenel Ka and Allana, he loved me most of all. He wanted us all to be safe, and thought becoming a Sith was the way to go about it. He just...got it wrong." Ben lamented, looking sad, though over the loss of Jacen, or the fact that the war had lost him his mother, he didn't know.

Leia looked out at the dark night sky. She felt a moment was approaching. A moment that had been unprecedented in the history of the galaxy. How, or why, she knew this, she didn't know. But she knew it. And she had a feeling it was something to do with Jempa. And her, she could feel it. But what was it?

XX

His counterpart looked at him gravely as her entire holo shook.

"It's getting worse." She said, as she toppled out of sight, and came back up again, swearing.

"I can see that. Do not worry my old friend. I feel the time we have waited for is approaching. Scout, otherwise known as 'Betty' has got her ysalamiri for what is to come. Are the others ready on the ship?" he asked in concern, and she nodded.

"Yes they are, their ysalamir is ready too. And it means it wont be able to sense them until they land on the planet. Provided we succeed." She said worriedly, but Jempa shook his head.

"We will succeed. We must. We have no other choice." He said gravely.

"Are you sure I'll be alright?" she asked worriedly, and he nodded.

"Yes my dear. Well, at least as certain as I can get. If not, get Korto to bring down a ysalamir for you as well." He advised, and she looked thoughtful.

"What if it all goes exactly as you say? This has never been done before. What if something goes drastically wrong, or things don't turn out exactly like we hope?" she asked in concern.

Jempa sighed.

"Then we trust the Force to fix our mistake. I know, this is filled with risks, but the threat of our greatest foe is greater than any other we have ever faced. We must do this, because I feel we shall need all the help we can get in the days to come. And besides, we owe it to the dead." He said sadly.

She looked at him in sympathy.

"I know we do. We will get her back for the deaths of Kina Ha, Jempa and Ferus Olin my dear, never fear." She soothed.

"Indeed. But either way we are running out of time. And I do not like the fact that the others have decided to confront her head on. I firmly believe on a force of Jedi and Sith working together can save the galaxy from Abeloth." He said gravely.

"I know you do. But we must try. And then, we can begin to focus on that dark threat I've been sensing stirring in the Force. It feels...Vongish. Which cant bode well." She said, her voice grim.

"Agreed my dear. We can focus on that after we stop Abeloth. Ah, I sense them approaching. Excellent. We are close. Hang in there. And have another word with Quinlan. He isn't listening to me, but he might listen to you. Having them confront her is a bad idea." He said grimly, full of worry for his compatriots plans.

"I will. And all the others have their ysalamiri too. So, aside from us, the only ones who will be confused if we succeed are the inhabitants of Myrkr itself. And that could be a bit tricky to explain." She said with a slight grin.

She certainly hoped that she and Jempa's plan would succeed, and that would hopefully be enough to save the galaxy from the destructive force that was Abeloth, and whatever other dark threats were stirring in the darkness. And besides, she wanted to explain just to see how the hell they would explain it all to Myrkr.

"Oh, they're coming. Hang tight my dear." He said kindly.

"You too. And put me on speaker when you pass your judgement. I want to hear your rant." She said with a smile and vanished.

Jempa, as he was known for the moment, smiled and sat back. Yes, he had a feeling the time was approaching.

"Scout, or Betty, or whatever the hell I call you when they're not here, prepare the tea. Five cups, biscuits and the holo projector. It is time for Dr Jempa to pass judgement." He said.

"Yes master." She said happily, as it meant this charade would soon come to an end.

Jempa nodded. All was in readiness. He had to be careful. What he said here...the entire galaxy could depend upon it. He could only hope he was up to the challenge.

XX

They entered, smiling at Betty as they did so. She looked up and smiled. Luke, Leia and Han had come again, and this time, Ben had decided to tag along. And as an added bonus, Jaina, who they had encountered when leaving the apartment as she had been dropping off Allana, had also decided to come along, despite the others reservations.

They entered the room, and sure enough, it had changed once again. The three seater sofa had been moved back a little bit, and now there were two armchairs flanking it. Jempa was sitting, tea already in hand, and a ginger snap in the other, and he smiled at them and beckoned for them to sit. Leia poured them all tea, and they turned to face Jempa.

"Welcome back my friends. Young Ben, a delight to meet you, as it is you, young mistress Jaina." He said smiling, but his smile did not quite reach his eyes when he greeted Jaina.

"Well we talked about when he decided he would be better off as a Sith, and Ben figured out that he started heading towards it when we attacked Corellia rather than wiping Thrackan out sneakily." Luke said, looking at his son, who blushed slightly.

"Indeed. A fairly astute observation young Ben." Jempa said with a smile.

"But what's that go to do with anything?" Jaina asked in confusion.

He turned to her, and his expression was more kindly than it was before.

"Everything young one. Princess, would you do me the honour of contacting Queen Mother Tenel Ka?" he asked.

Leia looked at him in confusion, and he indicated the holo.

"Please. I have something to say to you all, and she must hear it also." He said, and reluctantly, and using the emergency channel against her wishes, Leia did so.

The beautiful red-headed leader of Hapes, with pale grey eyes and a lonely expression materialised, and her expression quickly became one of alarm.

"Leia, is Allana alright?" she asked urgently, and Leia nodded.

"Yes Tenel Ka. I'm sorry I used the emergency channel, but Dr Jempa here is quite insistent." She said, indicating the Whiphid, who bowed.

"An honour and a pleasure your majesty." He said and she visibly relaxed a little.

"So this fellow is the reason Jaina has been looking after Allana this week. I'm actually surprised you of all people are seeing a counsellor Han. You always dismissed it as hokey." She said with a tight smile.

Han waved his hand.

"Yeah, I'm usually wrong about things I describe as hokey." He admitted, and Luke smiled, while Jempa chuckled.

"So what is it that is so urgent that you tried to give me a coronary in trying to reach me Dr Jempa?" Tenel Ka asked, and everyone looked intrigued.

Jempa then stood up, clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing.

"Princess Leia, when you first came here a few days ago, you arrived with a guilty conscience. Anyone could see that. Not survivor's guilt as you thought however. Another type of guilt." He said sternly, then his eyes narrowed.

"As you once passed judgement on Jacen Solo, otherwise known as Darth Caedus, I now cast judgement on you all." He said, and Tenel Ka seemed quite impressed that he seemed determined to speak his mind even to the queen of an entire sector.

"Jacen Solo was incredibly powerful, arrogant, and stubborn. I am not suggesting he was blameless in his own fall to the dark side. Actually, far from it. If Jacen had truly wanted to fall, then very little would have stopped him. He was in a large part responsible for his own actions, as much as Vergere and Lumiya's manipulations were, and as much as Anakin's death and his torture at the hands of the Vong were. However, as I have told you many times now, I have watched you all for a very long time. And quite frankly, the thing that disgusted me the most in the Second Galactic Civil War was not in fact the obscene tactics used by all players, was not the deaths of the undeserving innocent, and was not even Jacen's fall to the dark side." He said, and gestured, and the comm to his partner silently clicked on.

"What disgusted me the most was you people, assembled here in this room, and your actions. Fair enough, Jacen was very dangerous. But in the year it took for Jacen to fall completely to the dark side and become a Sith Lord, not once, from any of you, did I ever see one attempt to redeem him, and that is what disgusted me the most. You may have thought you were wasting your time, but the lack of any _attempt_ is what has revolted me the most. Admiral Daala intends to bring Master Skywalker up on charges of dereliction of duty. It is my firm belief that all of you belong up on the block there with him." He spat.

His audience seemed shocked, their eyes wide in shock, guilt and shame. Ben looked on the verge of tears, as did Jaina and Tenel Ka. Tears were already brimming in Leia's eyes, and even Han and Luke looked slightly shaky. But they were captured by their own curiosity, and he knew they would stay and here out what he had to say.

"There was no attempt to save Jacen from the dark side, and there _were_ opportunities, believe me! Times when Jacen hated what he was doing, what he had to do...and you failed to act. You all stood back, and let Jacen Solo, who was once the saviour of the galaxy, fall to the dark side of the Force, become a slayer of his own kin, become a tyrant, a murderer and a Sith Lord. And that is why you truly came to me. And as I promised, I now pass judgement on you all." He said firmly, and turned to his first target, Luke.

"Master Luke Skywalker, Grand Master of the New Jedi Order. Jacen's uncle, and the man he respected the most throughout his life. And you did nothing. The man who redeemed Darth Vader did not extend the same courtesy to his own nephew. Darth Vader destroyed the Jedi Order, killed his own wife, murdered children, decimated entire species, pillaged entire worlds, murdered your friends in the Rebellion and hunted you and your friends down like dogs. He also cut off your own hand and tried his hardest to turn or kill you at every opportunity. Yet you went to the Death Star at Endor with the express intention of saving him, and you did. Now, compared to Vader, Jacen was a mere Dark Jedi with funny coloured eyes. Yet you redeemed Vader, but did not extend the same courtesy to your nephew, who you had loved all his life. You had no reason to love your father when you went to face and redeem him. Jacen was another matter. You were meant to love him, and you did nothing, while a man who made your life a misery you went and saved from the dark side and you did not do the same for Jacen.

You have to been to the dark side Skywalker! You served the Emperor on Byss. You know how seductive it is. And you still decided Jacen was a lost cause. I can understand after you discovered he killed Mara that you did not wish to try, and I can sympathise with that fact. But you had plenty of time before that. You knew he was going dark, and you did nothing! You retained your foolish naive optimism that Jacen would come back around, even when you knew that because of his power and because of what he had been through he was in grave danger of falling! You knew and you did nothing! You redeemed _Darth Vader_ over your own nephew! I'm not saying he would have responded to any decent attempt to redeem him, and he may not have, but the lack of effort on your part sickens me. Your best shot at it was asking him he would come back at Kashyyyk. And that was the only attempt you made. And we know how that turned out. Consider, the man who turned Vader back to the light...let his nephew fall to the darkness without a fight." Jempa said harshly.

Luke was looking up at him in shock. Confident that he had gotten through to him, Jempa turned to his next victim, who had tears running down her face: Leia.

"And as for you Princess Leia...Jacen was always closest to you. You were his mother, and he looked up to you and wanted to be like you just as much as he wanted to be like Luke. You knew him better than anyone else, as you were his mother. You are right to have a guilty conscience. All of you did. You stood back and let Jacen fall. Again, I stress that he probably couldn't have been stopped...but that did not mean that you should stand back and make it easier for him. You lament the boy you lost...you did nothing to save him either! You knew he was changing, his actions during the Killik Crisis were a clear warning sign that your son had changed...but rather than try to talk to him, find out why he made those decisions, you never questioned them, even though they did not follow your example, which he had followed all his life. You were always his closest parent, and never once did you notice that he had changed, for the worst. You never questioned why he was doing those things, and you actively condoned the mission to kill him, even though you hadn't even tried to redeem him at all. He still loved you, and agonised over the fact that he thought you would be his sacrifice, and even your stupid betrayal of the Alliance didn't change his love for you. His own mother stood back and let her son fall to the dark side. You ought to be ashamed to call yourself his mother." He growled sinisterly, and tears came streaming down her face and she let out a sob as his words hit her.

Jaina and Han opened their mouths furiously, but he quelled both of them with a look.

"And as for you Captain Solo...I understand it was harder for you. Your son changed drastically, and you didn't quite know where that left you. You were confused and disgusted by what he had become, and I'm not saying it could have been prevented, but once again, it was the lack of an attempt to reverse it that has revolted me the most. When Jacen accidentally killed Ailyn Vel, you disowned him. Believe it or not Han, Jacen did not intend to kill her, and her death was an accident. But your lack of Force sensitivity is both a blessing and a curse. And as soon as you found out about the accident, you walked away from him. Your son was clearly different, damaged, and you did nothing to try and figure out how he had changed from being the kind little boy you and Leia raised to being the sort of man who accidentally kills prisoners! You too stood back and let your son fall. You did not try to understand why Jacen had been doing such a thing, and never did you or Leia actively talk to him about what he was doing or joining GAG because you were off playing 'nationalist', when in my humble opinion you had no damn business doing so! I appreciate that it harder for you to understand as you couldn't feel his fall, but you could see it if you looked hard enough. You just didn't want to." Jempa snarled.

Han was looking at Jempa with a slack mouth while the counsellor rounded on Jaina, who gulped.

"And you are the worst of all. During the Vong War, the two of you withdrew from your bond at different times and for different reasons. That is understandable to me. However, the first time when you truly started to abuse your bond was when he betrayed the Killiks. Because you were a Joiner, you turned away from him, citing his betrayal as a reason. You were so incensed that your brother had betrayed your new creepy crawly friends that you began pulling away from your bond. And it continued, your trust in him diminishing until your bond was barely noticeable. And then, he became colonel instantly, and that was when you truly stopped your twin bond. You pulled away, not for some reason that you could use to claim the moral high ground, no, you didn't pull away because you disapproved of GAG, you pulled away because you were angry and bitter that he had become a colonel without working for it. Trust me girl, I was a general and I didn't work for it, and it wasn't all it cracked up to be, believe me! At Corellia, you told Luke that you felt Jacen was going dark. You knew he was going dark, you could feel it...yet you did nothing! I will quote 'Jacen is going dark, I don't know him anymore...and one day I'm afraid he is going to break my heart'. Of all of you, you, as his _twin_ probably had the best chance anyone had of redeeming him if you had but tried, but you did nothing, because of some childish squabble, and because you were to busy flattering your eyelids at Zekk and Jag! You cared more about your bruised pride and your stupid little love triangle than you did about your own brother! You left it until it was too late before you even acknowledged that he had changed. You knew he was changing, what he was becoming, and you kept putting it off. If you had truly loved him, you would have gone to him long before you did, but to redeem, not to kill! You have to have a long serious think about your priorities girl." He roared, and Jaina was white and shaking.

Jempa then turned to the holo of Tenel Ka, which was crying.

"And with all due respect your majesty, you are not blameless in this. I understand it was harder for you. You didn't see him nearly as much as anyone else, but even then you must have sensed that he was getting steadily darker. And the fact that hr took over the Alliance and led a secret police...didn't that strike a chord with you as wrong? When did Jacen ever want power? That was a sign, and you missed it." He said in disappointment, and he sat down.

"Now, the last thing I want to do is speak ill of the dead, but Mara also did not do much. She too feared that he was going dark, and it was her love for Ben that kept her from acting. But she too knew how seductive the dark side can be. For the love of the Force, she was Palpatine's assassin! However, out of all of you, she probably made the best attempt at a redemption. She told Jacen to cut out the dark side crap before she had to hurt him. It failed yes, but perhaps that's because it wasn't heartfelt. She was the only thing that could even vaguely be recognised as an attempt." He said forlornly, then turned to Ben.

Ben was crying, and was shaking, fearing what was coming. But Jempa's eyes looked more kindly than he had when he had been yelling at the others.

"And you young Ben. You were a minor at the time, entrusted to Jacen's care, and his meddling with your memory didn't help matters at all. But, your love and loyalty to him also kept you from acting against him until it was too late. But as I said, he should have been the one watching you, not the other way around." He said firmly but kindly.

And then he sat back in his seat, his rant clearly over.

Luke was weak, and looked short of breath and was white as a sheet. Leia was sobbing into her hands, and they couldn't see her face. Han was slack jawed and looked devastated. Tears were running silently down Tenel Ka's face. Ben's blue eyes were filled with tears that continued to stream down his bloodless face. However, Jaina had regained her fighting spirit, despite the fact that she looked distraught, and there were nail marks on her face and tears were running down her face.

"How dare you...?" she demanded angrily, but she was quickly silence with a glare.

"Quite easily. I am not saying Jacen would have listened. I am not saying he could have been redeemed. Heck, I am not even saying that you had any opportunities. But the fact that you all sat back and let it happen...that is what revolts me." He said in distaste, his eyes narrowed, but not at her, at the entire thing, the entire war, the entire galaxy.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" she demanded tearfully, but still angrily.

"Search inside yourselves for the answer. And I pray that you find it." He said gently, and with that Jaina rose and stormed out.

Tenel Ka's holo flickered out sadly. Han pulled Leia up and she buried her head in his shoulder as they left, her still sobbing. Luke and Ben then rose silently, and Luke hugged Ben to him and the two left, tears coming from both of them.

And Jempa then let out a long breath.

"Feel better?" his companion asked in an amused voice.

"Immensely." He said cheerfully.

Yes he had been very harsh with them. But they had deserved it. He had been digusted by what he had seen during the last war. And perhaps now, one of them would develop the strength to do what had to be done. And if he was to make a bet on who it would be...it would be Leia, he thought certainly.

He hadn't seen the last of her at least. Smiling, he busied himself with the teapot and poured himself another cup of tea.

XX

Jaina was sitting in a bar drinking. She had already had far more than she could take, but she just wanted to get away from it all, forget everything that Jempa had said. But she couldn't. Because in her heart, she knew it was true. She had never even tried to get her brother back. And that thought made her sick to her stomach. Jempa was right. She'd been more focused on dealing with Zekk and Jag that she had totally ignored what Jacen was becoming.

"Never again." She vowed as she swigged her ale.

And in the corner, Iella Wessiri Antilles was watching her, on the orders of Leia, to make sure her daughter didn't do anything foolish.

XX

"Are you alright cousin?" Trista Zel asked.

Tenel Ka sniffed and cleared away some tears.

"Not really. I heard some home truths...they were hard to hear. But I think I needed to hear them." She said sadly, and retired into her private chambers.

XX

Ben was cuddled up to Luke as they sat on their sofa. At sixteen, most boys would reject this with a passion. But tonight, neither of them cared.

"He's right isn't he?" Ben asked sadly.

Luke nodded grimly. Jempa had been right. They hadn't tried to save Jacen. And it was about time they stopped living in denial and faced the truth.

"Yes. Like he says, we might not have been able to save him. But the fact that we didn't try is what is bad. He was right. I redeemed Vader. And I didn't even try with Jacen." He said, tears in his eyes.

"It's my fault." Ben whispered, but Luke shook his head vehemently.

"No. Jempa is right, you were the least to blame out of all of us. But, I think the rest of us are nearly equally guilty. Some more so than others." Luke said guiltily.

XX

Han was sitting drinking in his guilt ridden depression in the living room. Leia had just went straight to her room and had stayed there ever since, crying her eyes out. Threepio was thankful that he had heard from Dr Jempa. The Whiphid had said that it might be wise to arrange for Allana to go somewhere else for the night. Threepio figured something had happened and he had asked Mirax Terrik Horn to step in, and she had happily agreed. But Threepio knew that whatever had upset his master and mistress had also upset mistress Jaina and master Luke, and master Ben. Which meant it was his fault that they were so upset. He had gotten Leia to go to Jempa in the first place.

"Oh dear, I feel so helpless." He lamented, as Han keeled over on the couch, unconscious at last.

XX

Deep in the shadows of Korriban, a man clad in Yuuzhan Vong armour awoke in a stasis chamber, and looked up at his red and black tattooed Chagrian servant, Darth Wyyrlok, who was visible through the top of it.

"A critical moment is approaching." Darth Krayt stated.

A very critical moment indeed. But what was it?

**Well here we are. I told you Dr Jempa was going to pass judgement.**

**I feel loads better now I've got that off my chest. A fair few of those are my personal opinions. Now, I'm not saying that Jacen could have beem saved, far from it. But the fact that no one even bothered trying is what annoys me. They said 'oops, hes fallen, become a Sith, lets kill him', whereas Luke for example redeemed Vader even after all he had done.**

**So, the mystery deepends. What does Dr Jempa want? Who is his companion? What is he hiding? What does he believe Leia will do? What is this approaching critical moment? And why is it so important that Krayt has awoken? Who is this group preparing to go after Abeloth, deep within the Maw? What does Jempa and his companion wish to do, and why are they worried about Myrkyr?**

**All will be revealed next chapter, the final chapter of episode one! I hope you're enjoying this, and I feel so much better now I've written this. And be prepared for soemthing unexpected and very surprising...and potentially controversial as well, and perhaps morally wrong.**

**Bet that has you confused. Until next time, enjoy, and please read and review!**


	5. Episode I: Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

It was late at night when Leia awoke. She had finally stopped crying. Jempa's words had ripped open the wounds in her heart, which had been festering since the conclusion of the war and Jacen's death. Yes, Jacen had been a Sith Lord, and had most likely wanted to turn evil...but they, as Jempa had said there had been no attempt to redeem him. And everything the Whiphid had said was true, and that hurt more than anything else in the galaxy.

She got out of bed, then noticed the absence of Han. She wasn't surprised. When they had come home, while she had just come to bed, he had broken open the drinks cabinet and had attacked a bottle of Corellian whisky. She was actually surprised it was only him who was drinking, the way they all felt about what Jempa had said.

She put on her slippers and walked through the apartment, and saw Han conked out on the sofa, with a blanket put over him. Threepio had probably done it. She looked at her husband sadly, and realised that he'd had a point about him as well. But the way he had laid into Jaina and Luke, that hadn't been pleasant to watch, and poor Ben would probably be very upset by everything that had been said, because he still blamed himself.

But the question was why had Jempa laid into them? If she and Luke were right in their suspicions, then he was a Jedi, and if Han was right in his cynicism then he wanted something. But the way he was going on, the only logical explanation was that he wanted them all to go back in time and do everything differently. But as that was impossible, why go to all this trouble?

And she was beginning to think that Threepio had unintentionally been manipulated into choosing Jempa for them to go to. He knew far too much and had too much of an opinion on Jacen's fall to be random coincidence, even when aided and abetted by the Force. So what did Jempa really want? It wasn't as if she could turn back the clock and fix things was it? No matter how much she wanted to?

Before hand she had wanted to go back and save him from falling, do more to get her son back. But after their talks with Jempa, and his judgement, she wanted to do it even more. She wanted Jacen back, despite all he had done. She wanted to go back and do it all over again, and this time prevent him falling to the dark side...and them losing another child.

"Mistress Leia?" Threepio asked hesitantly as he came out onto the balcony where she was standing, with tears in her eyes.

"Hello Threepio." She said wearily, turning to give him a smile.

"I am sorry Mistress Leia, if I had any idea how upset you would all get by going to see Dr Jempa I would never have suggested it." He said sadly, and Leia smiled despite herself.

"It's alright Threepio. Actually, I reckon you did us all a favour by sending us to him. He...told us some home truths that we've been avoiding for a very long time. And believe it or not, we actually needed to confront them." She said with a forlorn sigh.

Threepio looked sad, a remarkable feat for a droid.

"But Mistress Leia, if I had known all that would transpire, how painful it would be for you all, then I would never have even made the appointment." He said sadly.

Leia turned to him and smiled again.

"No Threepio. We needed to hear what Jempa had to say. It hurt yeah, and all of us didn't like hearing it, and it upset us to hear it, but we did need to hear it." she said forcefully, and Threepio dropped the point, though he didn't seem very happy.

"But, speaking of Jempa, how did you come by him?" Leia asked curiously.

"Well the leaflet came through the door mistress. It advertised grief counselling and dream counselling, and as I suspected you had both I thought he was the best man for the job, especially because they still haven't asked for any money." Threepio said cheerily.

Leia snorted.

"I think there's two reasons he isn't asking for money. One, he wants something from us rather than money and secondly, I don't think he's a real counsellor." She said with a raised eyebrow.

Threepio let out a splutter of indignant rage.

"He's not a real counsellor? But mistress Leia, I did some checking the first time he upset you, and he seems to be quite popular and quite good at his job and he comes highly recommended. How can he not be a real counsellor?" he demanded.

Leia actually laughed. The entire family had just been emotionally assaulted by what Jempa had said, and here was poor old Threepio demanding not how he had gotten to them, but how he could have fooled his considerable skills. Bless him.

"Like I said Threepio, it's not your fault. And besides, Luke and I are beginning to think he's actually a Jedi." She stated.

"A Jedi? Part of Master Luke's order, or the old one?" Threepio asked curiously.

"The old one we reckon. But I don't get what he wants..." Leia said musingly, looking out across her balcony top the dark night sky, the wind stirring her hair faintly.

"Are you alright Mistress Leia?" Threepio asked in concern.

Leia pondered her answer to his question. Yes, she felt terrible. She had been told that she had just stood back and let her son become the epitome of all evil, and she had been rightly told that she had let it happen, and hadn't even tried any other approach before ordering his death. And seeing Jempa rage at the others hadn't been easy either. But...she felt something, a critical moment, and she felt she and Jempa were tied to it in someway. But, she couldn't shake the fact that it had to do with Jacen as well, which was impossible because he was dead. And that made her sad again, despite the small amount of odd curious excitement she had felt.

"I...suppose so Threepio." She said, and he seemed satisfied.

"You really should go in doors mistress Leia. You'll get a chill standing out here." He said simply.

But when she made no move to go inside, he decided to stay and keep an eye on his mistress. Artoo had warned him that Luke and Ben had also been upset, so whatever had been said by Jempa had been to all of them. And considering what Han and Jaina had done to themselves, Threepio didn't quite trust his mistress.

"Threepio, can I ask you a question?" she asked suddenly as she leaned on the balcony.

"Of course Mistress Leia."

She turned to her droid, and despite the fact that we was fussy and pompous, he had been a very close friend over the years. Both he and Artoo had been part of the entire Skywalker family for years, and she doubted that they had ever once asked either of the droids for their take on a situation.

"Threepio, I know you might find the Force a bit hard to understand, but...do you think we did enough to try and save Jacen from becoming Caedus?" she asked, fear in her eyes.

Threepio looked at his mistress and pondered. He had never been asked for his opinion on such a matter before. But, he did not want to upset her, so decided to tread carefully.

"Permission to speak frankly Mistress Leia?" he asked worriedly, and she nodded her assent.

"Well...it seems to me that Master Jacen had a significant change in personality after his return from his journey across the galaxy. However, just before the Second Galactic Civil War began, he was getting, well I wouldn't say meaner per se, but he was certainly a lot colder. Mistress Jaina had sort of cut him out of her life, and he was more distant with you all as well. I think perhaps that is why he enjoyed spending so much time with Ben, because he hadn't cooled in his treatment towards him. I saw Master Jacen look a bit hurt on several occasions. And when he started taking over the Alliance, you didn't question it, which is what I always found odd. You just...let it happen, and even when he did things that he was never raised to do, none of you responded. It was quite clear to Artoo and I that Master Jacen was making a turn for the worst, and you did nothing. And when Master Ben discovered that Master Jacen had become Darth Caedus, none of you, even Master Luke, tried to fix him, the way people like Kyp Durron and Mistress Jaina were fixed." Threepio said, afraid of upsetting his mistress.

Leia sighed. So he thought the same as Jempa did. That she had set back and had let her son fall to the dark side and become a tyrant, just like Han, and that Luke hadn't bothered to try and save his nephew. She had thought as much. First thing in the morning she felt like she should go and see Daala and plead with her to put her on the block along with Han and Luke. Heck, Jaina might even join them.

"I thought as much. Thank you Threepio." She said quietly.

Threepio could see that she was very disheartened by what he had said.

"Mistress Leia, I didn't mean to offend or upset you, but..."

Leia shook her head, waving her hand impatiently.

"It's alright Threepio. I asked, you gave me your opinion. And...it's right. And that's what's upset us the most. All of us. You, Jempa, you both saw how little we did to save him. We only couldn't see it ourselves until it was too late." She said sadly, bitterly hating every minute of the war she had spent fighting for Corellia and not trying to save her son from the darkness.

Then, a thought occurred to her. Threepio had been with them nearly all the time in the various crises that had shaken the galaxy. So, perhaps he could tell her when Jacen had turned from the little boy she had raised to the tyrant he had become.

"Threepio, can I ask another question?" she asked, and Threepio appeared uncertain.

"I would rather not Mistress Leia considering that my last answer upset you." He said sadly.

"I told you it doesn't matter ok? No, this time, the question is, when did Jacen first appear different to you, and when did he first start going dark?" she asked, curious to know.

Threepio pondered.

"Well he first appeared dark, as you put it, upon our hasty return to Coruscant after the war officially began. And as to when he appeared different, I didn't actually see him, but the way he contacted you on Yoggoy seemed so unlike him, far too mystical and I must say, a trifle rude." He said musingly.

Leia thought. That was the first time she had known of Jacen's ability to flow walk. Flow walk...

Flow walking was a method in which Force users gifted with the power could travel back or forward in time to see events. Jacen had been very gifted in it, and that had been how he had manipulated Tahiri into doing his bidding, by taking her to see Anakin. Tahiri had told her that she had been able to give Anakin the kiss she had refused him on the _Baanu Raas_. While she didn't know exactly how it worked, she knew it couldn't be used to change the past. But, it could be used to change small events...

And then it hit her. Jempa wanted to do something with flow walking. But it didn't work like that...unless he knew something she didn't. Maybe...maybe this did have something to do with Jacen after all.

"Threepio..." Leia said quietly.

"Yes Mistress?"

"You are the most wonderful protocol droid in the galaxy." She finished, smiling at her golden droid.

"Oh my, well thank you Mistress Leia." He said, pleased.

"Threepio, contact Tenel Ka. I have something I want to ask her." Leia ordered and she headed indoors.

Flow walking couldn't be used to change the past, unless Luke and Jacen had been mistaken. But, it could be used to change the perception of events apparently. Maybe that's what Jempa was getting at. But if he thought time could be changed he was wrong. But if he did think that, it would explain why he had done everything that he had done, getting to know her family, talking to them, watching them, judging them. She had to go and tell him he was wasting his time.

But she couldn't deny it...a tiny little part of her hoped he knew something she didn't about flow walking, as such she had questions to ask.

"Han." She said, poking her comatose husband.

Han grunted irritably.

"Han, listen to me...if there was a chance, to do it all again, to try and save Jacen and Mara, would you take it?" she demanded.

Han grunted an affirmative and then lapsed back into his loud snores that rattled the glass on the table. Leia rolled her eyes, then went to the comm unit, and contacted Jaina.

"Uh, mom, I felt like dying even before I started drinking and now I feel like death incarnate. What is it?" Jaina asked groggily.

Leia pursed her lips. She knew she should tell Jaina off for going out and getting totally wasted to try and make herself feel better, but she needed her answer.

"I'll tell you off later. Sweetie, if you had a chance, would you go back and do it all again?" Leia asked urgently.

"Do what all again?" Jaina asked, sounding like death.

"Everything to do with Jacen, the war, everything." Leia said impatiently.

Jaina made an irritable noise.

"Would I want to re-establish my bond with my brother, and focus on saving him from the dark side rather than focusing on my Zekk and Jag problem? Of course I'd do it again."

"That's all I needed honey, thanks."

"Mom, what?" she asked in confusion but Leia turned her off.

She then called Luke, and was answered by the small form of Artoo, who whistled at her indignantly.

"Yes Artoo, I know it's late, but could you please wake Luke and Ben up? I have something I need to ask them, it's important." She ordered him.

Artoo whistled reluctantly, and Luke came through looking annoyed and tired.

"Leia, what's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"Luke I know it's late, and I know we all feel bad, but I have something important to ask you...if you could do all of the last three years again, would you?" she asked.

Luke looked at her penetratingly, trying to figure out what she was up to.

"Yes I would. Not just for Mara and Ben's sake, but for Jacen's too. Because Jempa was right, we did fail him as much as he failed us." Luke said, sounding disheartened.

"Good. Thanks." She said, eagerly waiting for Ben to show up.

"Leia, what is this about?" Luke asked tiredly, but Leia shook her head.

"I'll tell you more when I'm sure." She said, and Luke rolled his eyes and went back to bed.

Ben then came onto the screen, his covers wrapped around his bare chest to keep him warm. He looked blearily at her, and his hair was a mess.

"Hey aunt Leia, what's up?" he asked.

"Ben sweetie, if you had a chance to do it all again, the entire war, would you do it again?" she asked, looking worried about his answer.

Ben looked at her. Would he do it all again?

He smiled at her slightly.

"Of course I would. And given half a chance...I'd want my mom and my cousin back." He said sadly.

Leia looked at her nephew proudly. Even with everything that Jacen had done, killing his mother and torturing him, he still wanted the version of Jacen he had loved back. She couldn't ask for a better nephew.

"So would I honey. Goodnight honey." She said, and Ben looked at her hesitantly.

"Aunt Leia, if you have a way to try and change it...do it." He begged her, his blue eyes looking at her with a little bit of hope, but a lot of disbelief.

Leia didn't think he should have a look like that in his eyes at his age. He was only sixteen, and he already had a cynical look in his eyes that suggested to her he always expected the worst to happen.

"I don't know if I do Ben, but I promise you, if I do, I will try and fix this." She promised.

Ben smiled at her.

"I love you aunt Leia." He said, smiling at her.

"I love you too." She said as he vanished.

Leia pondered. Her heart was beating quickly, thumping against her ribs. She knew was probably setting herself up for a big letdown, but a small part of her didn't want to admit that. Part of her wanted to believe she could get Mara, and Jacen back. Part of her wanted to believe Jempa had some secret way, because what was the point in doing everything that he had done, and encouraged them to search their hearts for the answer of what he wanted them to do next unless he had something up his sleeve.

And that was why Leia was asking everyone what they thought, about whether they would try to save their loved ones from the devastating last war.

"Mistress Leia, I have raised Queen Mother Tenel Ka." Threepio reported.

Leia smiled at the wan looking queen.

"Leia, if this is another call asking me to be berated for something I sorely wish I could do all over again..." Tenel Ka said warningly.

"You would do it all again?" Leia interjected, cutting across her.

"Of course I would, wouldn't you?" she asked in confusion and Leia smiled.

"Of course. Thank you." She said, and flicked it off, totally throwing Tenel Ka for six.

They would all do it again. And flow walking was the key...or at least it was flow walking that Jempa was getting at, she was sure of it. But what did he intend to do? The Aing-Tii, Luke and Jacen all said that it couldn't be used to change the past, just a person's perception of it. Leia doubted they were all wrong. But, if they were...

"Mistress Leia, are you sure you are alright?" he asked worriedly, and she nodded.

"I'm fine Threepio. I'm going out." She said and got her coat and shoes.

"But Mistress Leia, it's the back of two in the morning! Where are you going?" Threepio demanded hysterically.

Leia smiled, knowing it was the right thing to do.

"To see Jempa." She said and headed for the door.

"But he won't even be in his office! It's the middle of the night! Dont do this Mistress Leia, it isn't safe!" he wailed.

Leia smiled at him gently.

"Threepio, I'm a Jedi Knight. I can take care of myself. I'll be alright. Tell Han where I've gone when he wakes up would you?" she asked and disappeared out of the door.

"Oh dear oh dear." Threepio moaned and shut the door behind her.

XX

Leia signalled a taxi, and told him to take his time as she tried to stall her hammering heart. Hopeful excitement was coursing through her. But, she knew she was probably just letting herself in for a fall. But, if there was a chance...

As the driver, a cautious Ithorian, drove towards Jempa's office, she dozed slightly.

"_Mommy!" Jacen cried._

_He was the same man he had been just before the last war, the one that had taken her second child. But his eyes weren't as hard, pained and troubled as they had been. They looked more open, more trusting, more loving, more...Jacen._

_Then Leia saw what was going on. Lumiya was back, and she had Jacen's hand in her own and was trying to drag him away from her. Jacen however looked panicked, looked scared that he was being dragged into the darkness._

"_Mommy, help me!" he yelled urgently, and she noticed that his lightsaber wasn't on his belt or in his hand._

_And then she saw the reason. Lumiya's other hand had the Corusca Gem that she had taken in her last dream in it._

"_She doesn't love you anymore Jacen, you belong with me." Lumiya purred, looking at Leia gloatingly._

_Jacen looked imploringly at his mother, but also looked at Lumiya as if he was listening to what she was saying. And then, Leia decided she had had enough. She reached out her hand towards her son, and he was struggling to take a hold of it, while she could see that Lumiya was struggling to keep a hold of him._

"_No Lumiya. He doesn't belong with you. Because there's something you haven't realised. He is my son. Through thick or thin, through light or dark he is my son. And I forgot that. But not anymore. Jacen is my little boy, always has been, always will be. Now get your filthy claws off of MY SON!" Leia yelled and blasted Lumiya back with a Force push._

_Lumiya's grip on Jacen's hand finally lessened as she flew backwards. Jacen was free and he dashed to her and wrapped his mother in a tight, loving embrace._

"_Mom..." he said lovingly, and Leia hugged him to her, savouring his touch, enjoying his warmth, reliving the experience of hugging her son, the one who had always been closest to her._

"_Jacen...I'm so sorry." She said nuzzling him, then turned to see a livid Lumiya, who had drawn her whip._

"_Sweetie, stay here. Mommy has some ass kicking to do." She growled and lit her lightsaber._

_Lumiya glared at her, her green eyes like lasers as she raised her whip._

"_He's mine Leia. He called me mom remember?" she gloated while Jacen looked on._

"_Yeah he did, but that's because I forgot how to be a mother. But now, I've remembered. A mother sticks with her kids through thick and thin, and that's what I forgot. A mother certainly doesn't just side with her son when it suits her...'mom'." she said, and leapt at Lumiya, her lightsaber swinging._

_Lumiya gave a hiss and twirled her whip upwards to cut Leia to shreds, but Leia blocked the attack and yanked at her blade, cutting several tendrils off. While she did so, she saw that the green Corusca gem had turned to a mix between blue and red, and the blue was rapidly forcing out the light, and it seemed to be burning Lumiya's hand._

"_That stone...his love...is mine!" Leia hissed and cleaved her blade down and took off Lumiya's arm, making her scream in annoyance, and the gem flew up into the air and landed in Leia's hand, totally blue. Leia then catapulted herself at her foe, and while Lumiya tried to bring her whip around in time, Leia was too quick, and her blue blade burst through Lumiya's chest, making Lumiya gag in shock. She then pulled her saber out of her body and took off Lumiya's legs and remaining arm in a wide arc, before decapitating her, and her body parts fell to the floor. Leia gave a satisfied noise and smiled, before being enveloped in a hug by Jacen._

"_I love you mom." He said, hugging her tightly, his voice full of tears._

"_And I love you too Jacen, and I will never forget that ever again." She promised as she stroked his hair, and his gem glowed so brightly that it looked white in her hand._

"HA!" she cried, waking up and making the Ithorian start as he landed the speeder at Jempa's office.

"Are you alright Princess?" he asked in concern, and she nodded, smiling.

"Yes actually. And as a bonus, I just beat the bitch who kept walking into my dreams as well. Thanks." She said, and gave him a very generous tip as she left his cab.

It was still the middle of the night, and Leia began to consider that Threepio might have been right, as she reached the door. But when she pressed it and saw that the office was still lit, she smiled and entered to see Betty, sipping coffee behind her desk, with a young ysalamiri sitting on her lap.

"Good evening Princess. Damn you." She said, but still with a smile.

Leia, who was quite shocked that she was sitting there even at this time in the morning, looked at her in confusion.

"Why are you damning me?" she asked, and Betty smiled.

"Because I made a bet with Jempa. He bet me fifty credits it would be you who came back, I said it would be Ben. Go on through, he's waiting for you. And give him this." She said, smiling, and handing over the fifty credits.

"Um...sure." she said, a bit put out as she entered the office to see Jempa smiling at her from his desk.

"Princess Leia. Please." He said cheerfully, indicating the chair in front of his as she gave him the credits.

"How did you know I would be back?" she asked curiously as she sat down, and for once it seemed as if they didn't have to wait for Betty to deliver the tea.

Jempa smiled.

"I knew from the start that out of all of you, you were the best choice. Luke couldn't do what needs to be done, he's too dictated by what Jacen did to Mara. Han can't because he unfortunately isn't Force sensitive. That of course rules out the droids as well. Tenel Ka can't do it because of her position. Jaina can't do it because she's too damaged by the fact that she had to kill her own brother. And despite however much Ben loved Jacen, what Jacen did to him as Caedus had turned him against him, a little too much to do what needs to be done. Only you my dear Princess can do what needs to be done, as only you can love enough to forgive Jacen for his actions, as a mother should." Jempa explained.

Leia looked at him quizzically. This enigmatic Whiphid had come into their lives, and now he was dangling the possibility of getting her son and sister in law back in front of her. Was it for real?

"Look...I know what you want me to do. But flow walking doesn't work like that. You can't change the past. All you can do is go back and observe it, you can't physically change it." She said sadly, but hope was filling in her heart, hoping that Jempa would have a way around it.

Because what was the point in making them do all of this, make them realise where they went wrong, if not to try and fix it? It wouldn't do them any good knowing where they had gone wrong if there wasn't something that the counsellor had up his sleeve. And the fact that he was almost certainly a Jedi only added to her excitement.

Jempa clasped his hands and looked at her gravely.

"Flow walking can't be used to change the past, you are correct." He said sadly, and Leia felt her excitement ebb from her.

She knew it was a forlorn hope, but she had let herself get excited, she had let herself believe that there was a chance that she would be able to do something, something that would let her get Jacen back, and would let Mara live again.

She fought against the wave of despair and hopelessness and utter sadness that was rising inside her, threatening to choke her. Had he just brought them before him just to tell them where they had gone wrong? Had he gotten off on telling them how spectacularly they had failed at redeeming Jacen? If so...

But then Jempa's face developed into a wide smile and he looked at her with proud excitement in his eyes.

"However, the Aing-Tii are basing that belief on one of their own species using the technique. The Force is incredibly powerful, as is time itself. However, I believe that a direct descendant of Anakin Skywalker, a descendant of the Chosen One himself, _should _be able to influence the past to such a degree that we can achieve great change." He said cheerily, and Leia felt happiness flood through her again.

"But you don't know." Leia said, despite the happiness now flooding through her.

Jempa shrugged.

"No I don't. But I believe you can change things. And I believe that only you can do this my dear. If you do as I want, only you can love Jacen enough to forgive what he has done." He counselled.

Leia looked at him, her happiness making her feel light headed. He was actually giving her a way in which she could try to get Mara and Jacen back. And that thought was wonderful. But first, she needed answers.

"Alright, before we go any further, just back up a minute. Why do all of this, why talk to me, why depend on me, why come and talk to us?" she demanded.

Jempa looked at her as if he was deep in thought, and steepled his fingers as he did so.

"My dear, the last war was a disaster. Not just for the galaxy and for the Jedi, but for your family as well. As I said, Jacen fell to the dark side and killed Mara, and all through that time there was no attempt to redeem him at all. The fact that you found yourself on opposing sides made it all the worse, and it resulted in the most needless war the galaxy had ever seen, that got millions of good people killed, debased galactic heroes such as Jacen and Tahiri, and saw the completely pointless deaths of good people, such as Pellaeon, Isolder, Cal Omas, Mara and even Jacen himself. It was totally stupid and pointless, and it only got so bad because of wilful ignorance and Lumiya's manipulations. The last war was a terrible wound on the galaxy that need never have happened. It is my belief that it was not the will of the Force, and it only became a war because something was imposing their will on it. As such, I intend to change it, so that we may fight the true threat, whose ends were served by the creation of the last war all too well." Jempa explained darkly, and Leia shuddered at his final words.

"What true threat?" she asked worriedly.

Jempa looked grave.

"An ancient and powerful evil, as old as time itself. The war released it upon the galaxy. And now, it threatens all life. And the very Force itself. So, to defend the Force, that is why I came to you. So that together we will perhaps be able to reverse this tragedy and save the galaxy." He said.

Leia looked worried. A threat that could threaten the Force? No matter what part of the galaxy you were from, that was very bad news. But, even if Jempa thought that the last war was nothing more than a tragedy and that this true threat was behind it, that still didn't justify what he had done.

"But, that doesn't explain why you came to me." She pointed out, and he nodded graciously.

"Indeed it doesn't. I came to you for a reason Leia. Party, it's because I was revolted by what happened in your family during the war, and I wanted to make you see how bad things had become because of your apathy. And the other reason is that I believe the galaxy cannot survive what is to come unless it is unified, and has its strongest champions present. The war took away many of our strongest champions, and also made the galaxy incredibly unstable. The various factions only united against Caedus. And now look. Admiral Daala is still trying to bring the various parts of the galaxy together, and such a landscape is going to be an open range for our foe. We _need _unity if we are to survive." He explained, and Leia looked at him quizzically.

This true threat was sounding worse all the time. And if they couldn't stop it with what they had at the moment, how could they...?

"You think Jacen is important." She said in realisation, and he smiled proudly.

"Indeed. I believe Jacen found something out about her, or at least might have touched her presence in his travels. And, as he is, aside from Luke, the strongest Jedi in the Order, we need him as much as we need Mara, and as much as we need every other person who fell during the war." He elaborated.

Leia looked unsure. He was making a good point, but she supposed Lumiya must have made one to Jacen as well in order to get him to become her apprentice. But, as she expanded her awareness in the Force, she could feel a darkness unlike one she had ever felt before. Darker than Palpatine, darker than Vader, darker than what Jacen had become, a powerful, needy, hungry darkness that was stretching out, and was determined to destroy the galaxy. Coming out of her trance, she shivered, and Jempa nodded.

"Yes. That's her." He said.

Leia then saw a glimpse of the future. Hundreds of worlds, utterly devoid of life. Jedi dead everywhere. Han, Luke, Jaina, Ben, Allana, all dead at the hands of this great hunger. The entire galaxy, devoid of life, nothing there but this ancient darkness. Her vision ended, and she looked at Jempa fearfully. If he was right, the galaxy as it stood couldn't stop the ancient evil. But...who were they to change the entire fate of the galaxy just so that it would stand a better chance of survival? And if they did change the galaxy, how were they to know that it wouldn't become worse than what it was already?

"We cant change the entire history of the galaxy, not just on a whim." She said, though she bitterly wished it wasn't so.

Jempa nodded in understanding, his eyes also full of worry about what he was suggesting. He knew the magnitude of what he was suggesting, and who knew how much they could change by their decision? He knew this had never been done before, and he knew there was a very large chance that it couldn't work, and also a chance that if it did work it wouldn't work they way he and his allies wanted it to. But, he knew in his heart that despite what it felt like, this was the right decision.

"I know. And this is a one off. Never before, and never again, will this even be contemplated. We are changing the history of the galaxy in order to try and save the galaxy." He said, and he believed it.

Leia however looked unsure.

"Yes, maybe we are. But that sounds awfully like Jacen's reasoning for doing everything he did. How do we know that by doing this, we won't become a new version of Caedus?" she asked in concern.

"I know Leia. This is the biggest risk anyone has ever taken, and we are gambling with the fate of the galaxy, the fate of the Force itself, to try and save it. And I know why you are concerned that we will become like Jacen. I too fear that. But, I feel we must do it. It may be the only way to save the galaxy from our true enemy. And even then it may not be enough." He said worriedly.

Leia had to admit, he did have a very good line of argument. And this true threat scared him so much that he was willing to consider this. Because, in her heart she knew that no matter how powerful the true threat was, Jempa wouldn't be suggesting this if they had any other choice. He wouldn't be suggesting this even if he truly felt that they deserved to change time unless the true threat could truly not be stopped in the present timeframe. But...they would be as bad as Jacen had become, changing the entire galaxy to save it. Did they really deserve to do that? After all, what gave them the right?

"This is bad. What gives us the right? Might doesn't make right." She said worriedly, and Jempa smiled slightly.

"Yes, that is a short sighted philosophy, often recanted upon meeting a more dangerous foe. Master Oppo Rancisis was particularly fond of using that analogy. And you are right, we don't have the right. And just because we can does not mean we should. You are correct, and I dislike this just as much as you do, and it will make us something we are not. But...every time we look into the future, we see our true enemy destroying us all. Perhaps changing time itself will save us all." He said, though he did still look unsure.

"And if it doesn't? Or if the change doesn't go how we want it to?" she asked curiously.

"Then we trust to the Force to fix our mistake." He said.

Leia looked out at the dark night sky. A threat that could destroy everything. And a possible way to save the galaxy from that threat. Was it right to change time to try and stop it? Would changing time be am evil just as great as anything this true threat could create?

But...hadn't Leia and the others already committed a great evil by standing by and letting Jacen become Caedus without even trying to stop him until they had no way out? Did two great evils make one right? And, as Jempa said, would they be able to save the galaxy from the Second Galactic Civil War, and thus prevent millions of countless deaths? Wasn't that doing good?

But what about all the births that had happened since the war? Who were they to possibly stop those births happening to try and give everyone a chance of surviving the true threat? But Leia knew in her heart that Jempa was a good man, and wouldn't even be considering this if he saw any other way, despite how he felt about their actions throughout Jacen's fall. And Leia was willing to trust him. And sometimes, to serve the greater good, you sometimes had to do things you didn't want to do. She and Jacen had both learnt that the hard way.

So, what did she do? Did she trust her instincts and do what Jempa wanted, and in the process hopefully get her son and sister in law back?

Or did she do what was right and hope that the galaxy could stop the true threat without this?

"I know it is distasteful Princess. I don't like it myself. But I am afraid this is the only way. All of us have seen the future, and all we see is the end of the galaxy. At least, the other way, we may give ourselves a small fighting chance to stop the true threat." Jempa said.

Leia was facing a massive internal battle. Did she stick to her instincts and take the risk that she may be able to change the war, prevent Jacen's fall and Mara's death, and possibly save the galaxy? Or did she follow her fears and not do this because of how much it could possibly change?

However, one side of the argument was beginning to eclipse the other. And deep down, in her heart, she knew that there was always only one choice she could make.

"And my dear, it is my belief that a family who has given up so much over so long...I think it may be time for you to take a little bit back." He said gently.

Leia smiled. He couldn't have known that they were her thoughts as well. They had given up so much, a proper family growing up, a peaceful galaxy, friends, family, children...all for the greater good. It was time to be a selfish. It was screaming against everything she believed in, and that was why she knew it was the right choice. For all her life she had fought for her principles across the galaxy. Now it was time to fight for her heart. And if there was a possibility of saving the galaxy yet again inherent in it, then so be it.

For once in her life, she decided to follow her heart rather than her duty.

"Alright, what do we do?" she asked, taking a deep breath as she did so and she turned and gave Jempa a weak smile.

Jempa looked at her in shock. He knew that this part would be the most difficult of all, persuading her to change the galaxy so it would hopefully turn out for the better and hopefully allow them to survive the coming battle.

"You will do it?" he asked curiously, still not sure whether she had what it took to do what he was asking of her.

Leia took a deep breath to still her racing heart. A thought entered her mind that she was just as bad as Tahiri, but she ignored it. It was wrong on so many levels except one...the level of her own heart. And she knew that if she never did this, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

"Yes." She said boldly, and felt her grow more certain as she said it, and she could feel somehow that, despite her relatively selfish intentions, it was the right thing to do.

Jempa then smiled at her proudly, the same sort of way Luke had used to look at Jacen.

"Then my dear, we are on." He said with a grin, and hoped to hell they weren't making a massive mistake.

"So, what do we do?" Leia asked, a small amount of excitement coursing through her, along with a great amount of fear.

Jempa, who she knew still hadn't told her about himself, smiled at her.

"Well, I think all we need to do is look to young Ben for our answer. Where did he say Jacen changed from being a morally ambiguous Jedi to heading towards becoming a Sith Lord?" he asked, smiling, and found himself just as proud of her as he had been of his own apprentice, Jempa, many moons ago.

Leia then realised exactly what they had to do.

"Thrackan!" she exclaimed in excitement as she realised the truth.

Jempa smiled broadly and nodded respectfully at her.

"Indeed. I believe Thrackan is the shatterpoint. He was the one who led Corellia to war, and acted as a ring leader for the other planets that declared rebellion. He was also the one who sabotaged the peace talks with Prime Minister Saxan, with the help of Lumiya. Without him, and with the Corellians fleet exposed and with no one to lead them, we could very well decapitate the rebellion before it becomes a full fledged one, because at the time, the Corellians still believed Thrackan would lead them out of the mess they were in. I believe if we were to remove him...we may have a chance." He said.

Leia gulped. In order to try and save the galaxy, and her son, she would have to murder a man in cold blood. Could she do that?

"I know this is a daunting task, and I tell you now, I am making no promises. There is a good chance that this will not work. But, as I said, I believe that a direct descendant on the Chosen One has enough Force power in order to influence the past to such an extent that we could very well change time itself." Jempa said, though he still looked unsure.

Leia looked at him.

"I know. And it isn't even a guarantee that we'll be able to stop the war. But what about all the brushfire wars that were starting up before the war actually began?" she asked in concern.

Jempa stroked his chin.

"Well, as I said, if we deal with Thrackan Sal-Solo, the various brush wars that were springing up and the various planets considering rebellion will lose their figurehead, and hopefully enough of their impetuousness in order to stop the war and their little fights before they get worse." He said.

Leia looked out of the window. Thrackan was the threat that they had to deal with then. And she supposed that he was actually a rather large figurehead, so if they got rid of him, as Jempa said, the rebellions would hopefully lose their drive and fall back into the relatively unified, is disgruntled, state that they had been before the war had begun.

And she knew that it was only a small chance, and that things could still transpire badly even if she did change the past, but what if she didn't and everything she desired happened? What if they changed time as Jempa wanted, and Jacen stayed good, and Mara didn't die? But what if in another timeline, Jaina was the one to fall? Or even Ben? The entire thing was incredibly complex and was wrought with possible dangers, and a lot of it was just trusting to luck if they succeeded. But Leia knew in her heart that if she could possibly save the galaxy, and her son and best friend in the process, then so be it.

"It's all so risky." She said worriedly, and Jempa nodded compassionately.

"I know. It is all very risky, and we are trusting to luck, to the Force, and to your love for your family to see us through. And that will hopefully enable us to save the day, and perhaps the galaxy, both from the war and the true threat that we face." He said, and Leia could see that he was trusting to luck as much as she was.

But, if some of her husband's luck had rubbed off on her, all would hopefully go the same way that she wanted it to. If it worked. But could Luke and Jacen really both have been wrong?

But she supposed that they weren't actually changing it directly, they were merely making a rather large influence on it and trusting that something would work and save her family and the galaxy from the spectre of the Second Galactic Civil War.

"Alright, we'll go. But first, I want some answers." She said fiercely, and Jempa nodded.

"I thought you might. As you might have guessed, I am a Jedi of the Old Republic. I fought in the Clone Wars, and was a general during them, and I went into hiding after Order 66. After a while, I found a youngling by the name of Jempa." He said.

Leia looked at him. He either had the same name as his apprentice, or Jempa wasn't his real name. And she had been right about him. He was a Jedi.

"Together we made our way to a Hidden Temple with several other Jedi, and that is the basis for our group. There's a fair few of us floating around...Jedi and others alike. My compatriot was one we found there. The lot of us elected to stay out of galactic affairs until Palpatine was defeated, as a couple of us had faced Vader in combat, myself included, which is how I lost some of my tooth, and we had no desire to repeat the experience. When the Sith were defeated we spent years helping those that the New Republic didn't, the ones in the outer reaches who didn't join your new government, and we aided the refugee movement during the Vong War. We elected to sit back and watch during the Second Galactic Civil War, and we have all been watching you for a very long time. However, during the Vong War, a member of us, Kina Ha, happened across a mention of an ancient evil and went to investigate, taking Ferus Olin and my apprentice Jempa with her. They were attacked by the true threat, and my apprentice managed to get a Force message out to me to warn me before he too was killed. Since then, we have been accumulating knowledge about our true enemy, who somehow got let out of her nullification prison during the last war, and have been preparing to go after her. But for that, we needed you and your family, and we decided that we probably needed all the help we could get, and a unified galaxy if we were to survive the coming of the true threat. Make no mistake...we have never faced an enemy like this before. Jedi, Sith and the entire galaxy must be united if we are to save us all. And I think that going through with our plan will give us a better chance...if we succeed." He said.

Leia frowned. This thing had killed three Jedi with apparently no effort, and it had broken out of its prison. And now it was threatening the galaxy as a whole. Perhaps they could succeed in this galaxy, unchanged. But if he was right about the powers of this threat, a lot would be lost before hand, and perhaps the galaxy would be doomed anyway.

"Alright, before we go, what is your real name?" Leia asked.

Jempa smiled at her.

"I took the name Jempa here to stop you investigating me before I was ready, and also to honour my fallen apprentice, who I lost when we became aware of this threat. My real name is K'kruhk." He said jovially.

Leia had heard the name in stuff Tionne and Luke had recovered. A famous Jedi, he had survived such murderers as General Grievous, Asajj Ventress, and apparently Darth Vader, and had disappeared during the Dark Times. And now here he was, fifty years later, and trying to save the galaxy against the coming of this true threat.

Leia thought about it one last time. This true threat had escaped its prison because of the last war. It was strong enough to kill three Jedi with little to no effort at all. It was a powerful needy hunger that would spread across the galaxy consuming everything it touched, and the thing she had felt indicated that it was pure malicious dark side. The galaxy was writhing in chaos and disorder following her sons actions, and the Jedi were weak, and as far as they knew, there was no strong Sith presence left, so if K'kruhk was right and they needed a Sith to help defeat it, they were all in trouble. Changing time was incredibly risky, but if it worked the way they wanted it to, the Jedi would be strong and whole, the Alliance would be strong and unified, Jacen and Mara would be alive, and it might just give them a fighting chance against the true threat. Because Leia knew in her heart that if they stayed here and did nothing, the galaxy would come to an end. Jedi, Sith, normal people...all would be destroyed. She could feel it in her gut. But, was this the right thing? If they succeeded and did what they intended, they would be changing three years of galactic history, just to try and save the galaxy from this true threat. But, Leia had always tried to do what was best for the galaxy, and she knew that changing time to try and give it a fighting chance against this threat was the best thing to do. There was no victory in this galaxy. This thing would exploit the weakness, the chaos, and the disorder and would destroy everything in its path. Changing the galaxy would hopefully enable them to save it. That was what Jacen had thought as Darth Caedus, and it bothered her. He had tried to make the galaxy better by changing it. Perhaps he had. But in so doing, he had left it open to this other threat, and they had to try and stop it. So, Leia would for once follow her son's footsteps and change the galaxy in the hope of making it better for everyone.

And the fact that she might get Jacen and Mara back made it all the easier to take this leap of faith. She was changing three years of history, of the past, to try and save the present and the future, and her family. She only hoped that they wouldn't get it wrong.

"Let's go then." She said, and K'kruhk stood, and fixed a lightsaber to his belt.

K'kruhk headed out of the door and looked at Betty.

"Scout my dear, we're doing it. Let us hope that we get it right. If not, we will have to come back here and trust to luck that we can destroy it some other way." He said, and she hugged him tightly.

"Did you just call her Scout?" Leia asked curiously.

"Yes. Betty was just an alias. Her real name is Scout. Well, actually that's a nickname, but its a lot easier than saying her real name." K'kruhk said as they broke off.

"What is your real name?" Leia asked, and Scout grinned.

"Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy." She supplied.

Leia looked at her in disbelief, with wide shocked eyes.

"I'll call you Scout." She said, nodding to herself, and the other two laughed.

Scout picked up her ysalamiri.

"I'll contact the others. Good luck you two. May the Force be with you." She said, looking worried.

Leia nodded. She was feeling worried too. They were changing the entire galaxy here. This wasn't something you did every day.

"And succeed or fail, may the Force be with the entire galaxy." K'kruhk said and they went back into his office, and they heard Scout go outside so that they weren't affected by the ysalamiri bubble.

"So what do we do?" she asked, as he took her hand.

"Together my dear we shall cast ourselves back...let the grey curtain of this world fall back, feel weightless as we do so, and we shall fall back in time...we shall lose our contact with this world as we do so, and think ourselves back to the appropriate time..." K'kruhk said, and she did so.

Imagining herself back at the time of the attack on Centerpoint, she began to feel feather light, and she felt K'kruhk do the same beside her. The large gentle Whiphid made a noise that indicated he was impressed as the office dematerialised around them, and they travelled in a grey, twirling vortex as they moved back through time. The two of them stood, hand in hand, as time swirled around them.

"Whoa, I've never done this before..." she stated as time fluctuated around them both.

K'kuhk nodded.

"I know. But now you have reason to do so. Your father was quite adept at getting the hang of things first time as well you know." He said, and she could feel through the Force that he was just as nervous as she was.

After all, they were trying to change the galaxy in order to save it. This wasn't anything normal.

"Oh, look lively." K'kruhk said, as a steel grey floor began to materialise beneath them.

"K'kruhk...I mean, I want to do this, to try and save the galaxy, and to try and save Jacen and Mara...but are we doing the right thing?" Leia asked as time started to slow in the whirlpool it was creating around them.

"I don't know. We are acting out of good intentions however. However, our method could be described as one of evil. So I suspect it is up to your conscience to decide whether or not we are truly doing the right thing. But I suspect that if we do all that we aim to, then your answer will be quite obvious." He said with a wink.

Leia looked affronted, but she was only kidding.

"How dare you insist that I'm shallow?" she asked playfully as time started to slow, heading towards a stop.

"Me? Oh no it wasn't me." He said innocently, smiling as he did so.

Then, as time slowed, two figures started to materialise before her. One was that of Thrackan Sal-Solo, lying on the floor. Having the same face as her husband, but with a shock of white hair and a white beard, Leia had come to loathe the face many years before during the First Corellian Insurrection in which the Sacorrian Triad had tried to take over the galaxy. She narrowed her eyes in dislike at his prone figure, knowing he couldn't see her, and felt her heart beat faster. She had to kill this man. Yes, he was evil, and it was by his hand that her children had suffered years ago, and it was his fault that the war had gotten out of hand, and sent Jacen to the Sith...but could she kill him outright and in cold blood?

But then a second figure materialised, and Leia's heart threatened to explode. It was Jacen, just how he'd been at the time. His saber was pointing at Thrackan and he was standing triumphantly over him. He was still whole, her handsome son, the master of Ben, but still with the haunted look in his eyes, but there was still compassion within them, and they were still their warm brown, and not the evil yellow colour they had become when he was consumed with Darth Caedus and the dark side. His hair was its usual brown, straightened state, with the long bangs that he had favoured. His saber was still green from the Corusca gem that she had told him to keep, rather than the Sithly red that he had taken in his final days. And he was alive.

"Carefully my dear. I know how this is for you, but we cannot risk exposure..." K'kruhk counselled as they stopped moving.

"That's not enough. You ruin the future Thrackan. For the greater good, our Jedi traditions not withstanding, I have to kill you." Jacen was saying, slightly apologetically and a little bit sadly.

"Jacen..." Leia whispered, beginning to wonder if her son was always going to go dark, as here he was, going to kill an unarmed prisoner.

However, Jacen heard her, and looked up, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"MOM!" he demanded in shock.

"He can see us?" K'kruhk asked in confusion.

"You _are _insane boy. Your mother isn't there. I think I'd know." Thrackan said derisively, looking at Jacen as if he was crazy.

"Shut up." Jacen ordered harshly as he looked at them in shock.

"Jacen, you can see us?" Leia asked in shocked surprise.

Jacen nodded, and Leia turned to K'kruhk, who looked most confused, and shrugged.

"I don't know. Perhaps because he is so powerful in the Force, or because he knows how to flow walk himself, he can see us." He theorised.

"And who are you?" Jacen asked curiously, his lightsaber still at the fallen Thrackan, pointing at his neck.

"Hello young Jacen. It is an honour to finally meet you. I am K'kruhk, a Jedi of the Old Republic." He said, and he stepped forward to shake his hand

Jacen shook the outstretched hand, but as K'kruhk stepped forward, Thrackan yelped in shock.

"Where the hell did he come from?" he demanded.

"What, you can see me now too?" K'kruhk asked him urgently.

"You're rather hard to miss, you're a Whiphid for goodness sake!" Thrackan yelled, and K'kruhk looked most affronted.

Leia then stepped forward and materialised before him as well, making Thrackan scream in fright.

"How are you doing this, how did you get here?" he demanded of her.

"Shut up." Jacen and Leia said together, and then Leia looked up at her son, and he lowered his eyes guiltily, knowing that his mother had heard him say he was going to kill an unarmed prisoner.

"Jacen..." she began, and he looked down at her shoes in shame.

"I'm sorry mom, I know it's not like what you taught me, ever. But...I had a vision. If he isn't stopped, it'll lead to another war, one where thousands of people die. All of you suffer. People die, people we know die. And I can't let that happen. I can't let any of you die, it might be you, or Jaina, or Ben..." he said sadly, and Leia suspected that tears were beginning to form in his eyes as she looked at him, but whether because she had caught him or because he didn't like what he was becoming, she didn't know.

And that actually made sense. If he had had a vision about Thrackan living, and Thrackan had escaped, precipitating the war, he was right to see all those things.

"And if it doesn't stop, eventually...it'll lead to a fight between me and uncle Luke...and he doesn't win." Jacen said sadly, and then tears really did well up in his eyes.

And finally it all made sense. The reason for Jacen's fall was noble, as they had suspected. He was trying to protect everyone from yet more wars, from being hurt as a result of war, trying to protect the ones he loved from the terrible future he had seen in his visions. He was trying to save the galaxy, the Jedi, and his family. And that was Lumiya's way in. She had played on his desire to protect his family, and had offered him the strength to protect them, by turning him into a Sith. And because he had withdrawn and had blocked them out as they had done to him, he hadn't told anyone about these visions, and so had just done what he had thought was right, becoming more arrogant in his thinking and believing that only he knew what was going to happen and feeling that only he was strong enough to do it, but whether thinking that it was only him was a result of isolation or arrogance, she did not know.

And now Leia knew why her son was crying. He was crying because he was afraid of what he had seen, and he was crying because he didn't want any of it to come true, and he was crying because he was scared of his visions of the people he loved suffering and dying around him, just like Anakin had done. Meaning, that no matter what, he was still her son.

"Are you _crying_?" Thrackan demanded in delight.

"Oh shut up." Leia said irritably, then reached towards her son and pulled him into her embrace, gently rocking him, stroking his hair and making soothing noises, despite the fact that the man responsible for the start of the next war was sitting beside them.

As Leia rocked Jacen, and his lightsaber switched off as he returned her embrace, Thrackan tried to slip away but was cut off by a warning growl from K'kruhk.

"Don't even think about it." He warned, then looked at Leia hugging Jacen, and smiled, and repressed the urge to go 'aww'.

"I'm so sorry mom." He said sadly, sniffing a bit, and Leia wondered how long he had been wanting to just break down and tell everyone, but for some reason, maybe because he hadn't felt like he deserved to, hadn't.

"No honey, I'm the one who's sorry. We pulled away, and you pulled away from us as a result. We neglected you honey, and I am so sorry that we did. You've been living with this, and me, your uncle, your sister...we should have known something was wrong, and we didn't. You felt like you couldn't talk to us, and so you lost sight of the sweet little boy you used to be. But we are going to fix that ok sweetie? We are going to sit down and talk, just like we used to do, and you can tell us anything alright? We'll talk about your visions, we'll talk about anything you want. And we'll fix this family." She said, and Jacen's warm brown eyes were looking into hers, and a bit of the haunted hardness inside them disappeared from them, and Leia smiled at him as she released him.

"Mom..." he said quietly, but Leia shook her head and put her finger on his lips.

"Shh. Now, you aren't going to kill Thrackan, because if you do, things could get worse, believe me." She said kindly, and Jacen looked worried.

"What, what do you mean, get worse? Where did you flow walk from?" he asked urgently, fearing something bad had happened.

Leia looked at him sadly.

"Let's just say things get very bad. And, I'm afraid that if you are the one who kills Thrackan, it'll happen regardless." She said.

"But mom, he's responsible for creating a war, for causing pain..." Jacen said, desperate that his visions not come true.

Leia nodded, her face grim.

"I know honey, I've lived the result of him surviving. It isn't good. So, I'm not debating that he die. But you're not going to do it. I am." She said then lit her lightsaber and pointed it at Thrackan.

"This is turning into a really bad day." Thrackan said with a sigh.

"What, mom, no!" Jacen protested angrily, forcing her away from Thrackan.

She looked at him pointedly, trying to make him back down, but he had the same stubborn look on his face that his father got when he had decided on something, and Leia knew this would be a struggle.

"Jacen, you don't know what the future is like. That's why we did this, to try and give the galaxy a chance, try to give us a chance." She said, but Jacen shook his head.

"Mom, you can't murder someone in cold blood. You're not that sort of person. Let me do it. I've...already done bad stuff that I didn't want to do. Don't become like me mom." He implored her, but there were no tears anymore, just determination.

Leia looked at her son, while K'kruhk held Thrackan in place with a glare, though he was looking like he was contemplating something desperate.

"Jacen, you think you have to kill him to stop the chaos. And you're right, he has to be stopped, or a lot of your vision will come true. But, I'm afraid that if you kill him, it'll set loose another type of chaos, one I don't want us going through again. I _have_ to do this to save everyone else sweetie, just like you think you need to." She said gently, and Jacen dropped his hands, though he looked saddened that his mother was going to kill someone in cold blood on his account.

Thrackan looked imploringly up at her, and saw that she truly did intend to kill him.

"What do I do that's so bad?" he demanded hysterically.

Leia's heart went into her throat. This wasn't the sort of thing she did. But, to save the galaxy, what was one life? She suppressed a shudder as that would be the same argument Caedus would have used. But she knew she had to. To prevent a war, to prevent losing Mara, to prevent losing Jacen, to give the galaxy a chance against the true threat when it looked like it wouldn't survive as was, Thrackan Sal-Solo had to die.

"I'm sorry Thrackan. I have to do this. To save the galaxy." She said, and raised her lightsaber, while Jacen looked on sadly and K'kruhk looked on impassively.

"Wait, why?" Thrackan demanded with a scream.

Leia blinked tears out of her eyes.

"You start another war. And I am not going to let you destroy my family a second time." She vowed tightly, and brought her saber down to end his life.

"Mom!" Jacen yelled urgently, hoping that his mother wouldn't do this thing, but it turned out to be a moot point.

Leia's blade had stopped millimetres away from Thrackan's neck, her blade singeing his white beard and turning the hairs black.

"I...I can't do it." She whispered sadly, wanting to, as if she didn't the war would begin, Mara and Jacen would die, and the galaxy could very well be doomed to destruction at the hands of the true threat. But despite all the good she could conceivably do by killing him in cold blood, she couldn't kill an unarmed prisoner, no matter how much evil he had done.

"I know mom, let me do it." Jacen said gently, but she shook her head.

There was then a sigh from beside them and a green lightsaber sprung to life and sliced down, cutting Thrackan's scram off mid gargle as a massive rip opened in his chest. K'kruhk was standing there, his eyes fierce as he looked down at Thrackan's body.

"It is a sad but necessary fact. I'm sorry I had to do that, but perhaps now the galaxy will manage to survive." He said to Thrackan's body, and then turned irritably to Leia and Jacen, who looked at each other sheepishly.

"By the Force if we waited for you pair to decide who should kill him the war would be over and done with by the time you decided to make a move!" he growled in annoyance, and Leia and Jacen grinned at each other slightly.

The ground started to shake, and Jacen immediately went for his comm.

"Ben are you alright?" he asked in concern, and her nephew's voice answered quickly.

"Yeah, this droid thing Thrackan has was just saying he would stop Thrackan using it, but now he says it doesn't matter, because his 'father' is dead. So, I reckon in his grief, he's destroying the station." Ben said, and the floor trembled harder and there were loud crunching noises, like pressure was being placed on the joints.

"Ben, get out of here now!" Jacen ordered, and Ben gave an affirmative, and hung up.

"Mom..." Jacen said turning to her.

"This wasn't meant to happen." Leia said worriedly as she took a hold of K'kruhk's arm.

"Now we shall see, now we shall know if we have succeeded. Good luck young Jacen and may the Force be with you." K'kruhk said, holding on tight to Leia.

"Jacen sweetie, remember, talk to one of us, all of us, any of us, and it'll be better I promise!" Leia called.

"Mom!" Jacen cried in horror, as she and K'kruhk were jerked backwards.

Compared to the tame travel through time the last time, this time things were vastly different. Jagged lines of electricity spiralled out from them, scenes flashed past in a myriad of colours as they span through time and space, heading back to where they had started. Wind whistled through their ears as they were jerked back through time and space, as if they were attached to a high speed tractor beam wielding ship.

"Hold on to your knickers lass!" K'kruhk urged as they spiralled throughout time.

"Did it work, or did we just knacker up the galaxy?" she asked over the howling wind.

"I don't know! We'll just have to see. Oh I hope we land on something soft!" he wailed as they travelled through.

"Alright, we'll try to aim for the space in between Han's ears!" Leia called back with a smile and K'kruhk chuckled.

And then he saw that the massive vortex that they had created was slowing down.

"Brace yourself!" he called, and suddenly time stopped moving, but rather than the gradual reduction it had been last time the vortex just stopped and they were thrown off their feet and they crashed into his office, stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, landing on their backsides.

"Ouch." K'kruhk moaned as he pulled himself up on the table.

"I'm getting too old for this." Leia said bitterly as she used the chair to get herself back to her feet.

"Yeah, join the club." K'kruhk moaned, rubbing his backside ruefully.

Leia looked around the room. It looked just the same as it had when they had left it, and it was still K'kruhk's, but how much of it had truly changed?

"Did it work?" Leia asked curiously.

Because if her son and her sister in law weren't alive like she hoped, she didn't know what she would do., But hadn't time already changed, because Centerpoint hadn't been destroyed back then, it had been destroyed nearly a year later during the height of the war. And seeing Jacen, getting through to him, and getting him to open up...it made Leia think of what she should have done all along, and now that she had seen her dead son again, despite the fact that he had turned to the dark side, she didn't want to go on with him being dead. As K'kruhk had said, she was the only one who could love Jacen enough to forgive him for everything he had done in the name of galactic peace.

"I don't know my dear. Let us find out." K'kruhk said and they headed into the reception, and just as they did so, Scout entered, holding her ysalamiri, and she smiled broadly.

"Master, I think you did it!" she said excitedly, setting the creature down on the floor, and it promptly ran into K'kruhk's office.

"Scout! Do you remember everything?" he asked urgently.

Scout nodded, smiling.

"Yep, I remember the war and all that. But while you were gone, there was a sort of white ripple that spread across the entire planet. It didn't do anything when it passed over me, but things seemed a little different after it passed over everyone else. I really think we did it!" she said in delight, and K'kruhk raised his hand to calm her.

"We don't know that yet Scout. Let us see if the war did indeed happen." K'kruhk said, and the three of them went to her computer to check up on old events.

But then, Leia felt a touch on her mind, and smiled broadly and fought the tears that were welling in her eyes.

"Dont bother." She said, tears of joy running down her face.

"Leia my dear?" K'kruhk asked in concern.

And then the door opened again to reveal Jacen. He was her Jacen. He wasn't Darth Caedus. His eyes were brown, and were still a little bit haunted but she could see that there was a lot more love and happiness in them than there had been on Centerpoint. His hair was still a middle brown, rather than the darker hue it had taken on. He was wearing his usual jumpsuit, grey, a vast improvement over the black robes and cape he had worn as Caedus. He was her little boy again, and she had him back. He looked fuller, more fulfilled than he had on Centerpoint, like he had other things to live for. And his smile when he saw her was beautiful...then it changed into a look of irritation.

"Mom! Where the hell have you been?" he demanded, entering the room.

He then hugged her fiercely, and Leia had to suppress a sob. It had worked. Jacen was alive, he was good, he was a Jedi, and he was her son. K'kruhk and Scout were smiling in delight. It had worked!

"Jacen..." she said and hugged him fiercely when he tried to pull away, and Jacen looked down at her in confusion.

"Um, ok...but don't think that by giving me an extra hug you're going to get out of trouble." He scolded.

Leia broke off from him and looked up at her son, and saw that there was a hint of concern in his eyes.

"What do you mean honey?" she asked in confusion.

Jacen looked at her exasperatedly.

"You've been missing for days! We've all been worried sick, you didn't tell anyone where you went, and uncle Luke couldn't sense you in the Force, so we all started to worry that you were dead, dad's been going off his nut..." he continued, but Leia, and the other two to be fair, were looking at him as if he was mad.

"Mom, are you ok? And sorry, you two are?" Jacen asked as he finally took notice of K'kruhk and Scout.

Scout looked at her computer, and it was the same date that it had been when they had left, just ten minutes later. Perhaps the Force had had to compensate for the change in timeline by making the Leia from this timeline disappear for a while. Strange.

"Yeah sweetheart, we're alright. Jacen, this is Master K'kruhk and Scout. They're Jedi of the Old Republic." She explained, and recognition came into Jacen's eyes.

"Oh yeah, you're the guy who killed Thrackan, now I recognise you." He said, and K'kruhk nodded in greeting.

"Yeah...so I've been missing?" Leia asked, and Jacen turned back to her, looking concerned.

"Yes, all week...are you sure you're alright?" he asked, wondering if something bad had happened to her in her week's absence.

He carefully touched K'kruhk and Scout with the Force, and he could feel a Force empty bubble next door, but the two of them felt good enough. So what had happened?

"Yeah...Jacen, I know you're already worried about my sanity, you're giving me the same look your father gives me when I get an idea into my head, but I need you to tell me everything that has happened since K'kruhk killed Thrackan on Centerpoint three years ago alright?" she asked, and Jacen looked at her in growing worry and concern, as though afraid she was going nuts.

"Mom..." he said in concern, but Leia shook her head as K'kruhk and Scout came and sat down to look at Jacen, who looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Jacen dear, I'll explain everything later, but for now, tell us what I want to know please." She told him, and looking concerned for her sanity while he did so, he nodded.

"Ok mom...well, after K'kruhk here killed Thrackan and you two disappeared from wherever the hell you flow walked from, that droid thingy of Thrackan's went nuts, and said there was no point in its existence because its dad had told it what to do, and didn't want to be indirectly responsible for killing him, so it ripped Centerpoint apart. When that happened, the Corellian fleet didn't have their big blaster back up to reinforce their demands, and they got into serious trouble, and our fleet trounced it and forced it into surrender. We let word out that the Corellians had built a fleet in secret and people turned against them, because rather than use violence as a last resort like they should have, they were going to use it as a first resort and everyone turned against them, arguing that the fleet could be used to attack innocent wars and create some sort of aggressive rebellion. Nearly everyone turned against them because they didn't want another war so soon after the Vong and Killik Wars. They were seen as war mongers, and everyone who had similar ideals quickly distanced themselves and fell back into line, not wanting to be seen as actively encouraging another armed conflict, and since Chief Omas retired and Chief A'kla took over, the various rebellious movements have been relatively quiet because she's promised to scale back some GA control. So, no war, Corellians the bad guys, no Centerpoint and no war fleet. That what you wanted?" he asked looking unsure.

Leia leaned back to smile at the other two and had to suppress a whoop of victory. They had done it. They had averted the catastrophic Second Galactic Civil War, and apparently Jacen's fall to the dark side as well.

"Mom?" he asked worriedly.

"But what about us? Did you talk to us like I told you?" she asked urgently, and Jacen nodded.

"Yeah. We talked...and I actually began to feel a little bit better. It actually felt a lot better, talking to you...about all my visions and fears and stuff. I opened up a bit again, like I was before the Vong War. Just like you wanted." He smiled ruefully, and Leia had to resist smothering him in kisses.

"And then you sort of nudged Jaina into thinking she was just being stupid and she started using our twin bond again, so we're back to normal, like we used to be before the war, the two of keep talking over stuff for hours, so Ben goes to stay with uncle Luke and aunt Mara when she comes over." He explained, and Leia grinned ecstatically.

Mara was alive, Jacen was too, and both he and his sister were apparently a lot more open than they had been of late, before the Civil War. And that news thrilled Leia no end. Her kids were back to normal...or at least as normal as they ever got. It looked as if they had done everything they had intended and Jacen and Jaina were both more open and less haunted because they could now call on each other again for support. And that was just wonderful.

"I even started talking to uncle Luke again, and we do have good discussions and tlak about stuff, and get on...when it doesn't end in an argument about Ben." He said, sounding slightly bitter, but Leia had suspected as much.

Before the war had begun and in its early months, Luke had been rather untrusting of what Jacen was doing with Ben. It was a pity that all the bridges couldn't be mended, but she supposed everything couldn't be wonderful in this new timeline.

"We did it! Haha!" K'kruhk yelled happily and gave Scout a massive hug, which she joyously returned, laughing as she did so.

Leia then pulled Jacen to her, startling him and wrapping him in a loving hug and kissing his forehead and stroking his hair.

"Oh Jacen...I love you so so much, no matter what you've done, and I promise I will not forget how much I love you ever again." She said passionately, nuzzling him.

"Mom..." he said, but she could hear that he was actually quite pleased to be being hugged like this under his worry for her sanity.

He then broke off, looking at her oddly, as though afraid she would turn a funny colour at any moment.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked in grave concern, and Leia nodded, a massive smile on her face and tears of joy running down her face.

"Yes I'm fine. I'll explain everything at home. Oh I'm so glad I've got you back." She said tearfully, and Jacen looked further worried, and pulled his mother to her feet and led her out.

"Come on then, let's go home." He said hesitantly, and took her hand and dragged her from the office.

K'kruhk chuckled slightly as Leia gave her son a huge grin, despite how worried he looked about her. It had worked. Against all odds, it had worked. They had saved the galaxy from the Second Galactic Civil War, from Darth Caedus as well. Jacen and Mara were alive and well, and aside from a few squabbles between Luke and Jacen, everything seemed alright with the Skywalker clan. Everything had gone brilliantly.

"Marvellous. Scout my dear, contact all the others and find out if they remember everything. Send me a message when you do so." He said and put on his hat.

"Where are you going?" she asked curiously as she made a link to his contact.

"I am going to see the happy reunion." He said with a smile, and looked at Leia proudly.

She had done everything he had asked for and more. All had turned out for the best. And now the true fight would begin.

XX

Light was just beginning to show over the horizon when they arrived at the apartment, and it was just as Leia had left it earlier that night. The room was dark as they entered, but the figure asleep on the sofa wasn't her out cold husband, it was actually her sleeping nephew. Jacen smiled slightly at the sight, then gently touched his cheek to wake him up. Ben woke up groggily.

"What is it Jacen?" he asked tiredly.

"Look who I found." Jacen said happily, and standing back to let Ben see his mother, standing in the lit entry hall.

"Aunt Leia!" he cried ecstatically, and eighteen years worth of energetic apprentice vaulted over the sofa and wrapped her in a hug which she gratefully returned.

He was exactly like she had left him, bright, energetic, loving, full of life...just like Jacen had been when he was young. Maybe not when he was eighteen as he was fighting the Vong War, but still the same sort of happy that Jacen had been for years.

"Hello honey. Are you mad?" she asked sheepishly, and the swift smack on the head answered that question.

"We've been worried sick." He hissed, and she had a suspicion that Jacen and he had rehearsed their routine for when they found her.

Seeing the two of them together again, master and apprentice, loving cousins, made her heart swell. Things were back to normal.

"Sorry Ben. I'll explain everything in a bit." She said as K'kruhk entered and hung up his hat on the coat stand.

"Ah hello Ben. It is good to remake your acquaintance." K'kruhk said and shook his hand in greeting.

"Uh...thanks." Ben said, looking confused and looking to Jacen, who shrugged.

"Go wake Jaina up." Jacen said with a mischievous grin, that made Leia remember the days when the three of them had been growing up, and she knew that such a smile could not mean good news.

"Sure." Ben said, a little too happily, and she wondered what sort of rude awakening her daughter was about to get.

She entered the room, and her eyes immediately noticed something was missing. A vase that she liked was missing. So where was it?

"Jacen where's my vase?" she asked sharply and Jacen grinned.

"Dad broke it by accident the day after you went walkabout. It's really your own fault." He said with a smile as he went to Jaina's room.

"I'll kill him." She growled menacingly and K'kruhk chuckled.

"Thank you." She said, turning to face her Whiphid companion.

K'kruhk looked at her proudly and clasped her shoulder.

"Dont thank me my dear. You did all this, I was just along for the ride." He said, but before Leia could contradict him, his face broke into a grin.

"Oh dear, I don't she's going to appreciate that." He said, nodding his head at Jaina's room, and Leia turned.

To see Ben levitating her bed with the Force, with her still asleep on top of it, with Jacen sniggering behind him. Ben then tilted the bed and she dropped off of it and onto the floor with a thud and a yelp of pain. She then looked up resentfully at Ben and Jacen who were giggling and hissed.

"I really hate your apprentice sometimes." She growled in annoyance as she picked herself up.

Ben smiled at her, and Leia knew she was fighting down a grin of her own.

"Ah, you have forgotten your training young one. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to heightened blood pressure and poor digestion." Ben said with a wink and Jacen and Jaina laughed, with K'kruhk joining them.

"I'm going to shoot you." She vowed, ruffling Ben's messy red hair, and then she saw Leia.

"Mom!" she cried ecstatically and ran to her mother and hugged her.

"Jaina." She said in relief as she hugged her, and then she stepped back and fixed her with the same stare Leia had used to use on the kids when she had caught them up to no good.

"I'll explain in a minute." She promised, and Jaina turned to Jacen, who shrugged.

"She hasn't told me either." He lamented as there was a yelp from the spare bedroom.

"What was that?" Leia asked curiously, and Jaina smiled.

"Jacen's mean little apprentice waking up his parents no too delicately I imagine." She said, smiling.

"Give us back the covers Ben, what are you, four?" Luke demanded sleepily, and Leia and K'kruhk laughed.

"But you have to come and see this!" Ben responded.

"Ben, what? It's the back of four in the morning." Mara scolded, and Leia's heart leapt to hear her voice again.

"I know that, but come on!" he ordered from the room and came out.

"If this is anything less than a Sith attack..." Luke said bitterly.

Then the two followed their son from the room, and the two Skywalker's faces split into wide, if annoyed and exasperated grins.

"Leia!" Luke cried out and hugged his sister to him in delight.

"Hey Luke." She said, and then she was wrapped in another hug by Mara, which she fiercely and ecstatically returned.

"Oh ok." Mara said, the beautiful red headed woman looking slightly thrown by the strength of her welcome.

"Yeah she tried that with me too, I reckon she thinks she won't get into trouble if she does it enough." Jacen said as Jaina finished shaking K'kruhk's hand, and Leia was glad to see that he looked a lot fonder of her now.

Leia broke off from her best friend, tears of joy in her eyes.

"Ok, what's going on?" Mara asked suspiciously, but K'kruhk interceded.

"Master Skywalker, a pleasure to remake your acquaintance also. And Master Mara Skywalker, an honour to meet you at last, I have heard a lot about you. I am K'kruhk." He said shaking both of their hands.

"Uh..." Luke said, and Jacen once again shrugged.

"Oh I've heard of you. You were one of the Jedi Vader said you had to make sure was dead, if not you'd come back and bite us in the ass." She said, and he chortled.

"Well quite. I don't think Vader ever quite forgave me for escaping when he had me on the ropes." He said with a smile.

"Mistress Leia!" Threepio exclaimed happily as he entered the room with Artoo, who beeped in delight as he saw her.

Leia smiled at the droid who had started all of this, who had made it all possible, and she hugged him also.

"Oh my!" Threepio said, flustered.

"Thank you Threepio. You caused all this." She said warmly, and Threepio could only pat her back.

"Um...if you say so Mistress Leia." He said, put out, thinking he was being blamed, but knowing he wasn't because of how happy she sounded.

Artoo whistled at her and Leia patted his dome affectionately.

"Ah R2D2 and C3PO. A wonder to meet you." K'kruhk said and shook Threepio's hand, and patted Artoo's dome, and the little droid whistled in recognition.

"Yes and it is good to see you too little one." He said fondly.

"Leia!" Han cried in delight as he came through from their room and gathered his wife into a passionate kiss.

Then they broke off and he fixed her with a glare.

"Where the hell have you been?" he demanded angrily, and Leia looked to K'kruhk.

"You can't put it off any more my dear." He said and gestured for them all to sit down, which they did.

They all looked at her intently, and she sighed. Time to face the music.

"I actually don't know where I've been for the last week. Because while I am Leia, and your Leia, I actually came from a different timeline. K'kruhk and I changed time. And we did it to such a large degree that I reckon the Force must have had to remove me for a week to compensate for the time shift." She explained.

"You changed time? How? And more importantly why?" Luke asked worriedly, looking very grave as did Jacen.

Typical. They would agree to gang up on her when she had just saved them both in different ways.

"We changed it by flow walking." K'kruhk supplied helpfully.

Ben looked at the large Whiphid and shook his head.

"But Jacen said it can't be used to change time, only to alter people's perceptions of it." He said in confusion, and K'kruhk inclined his head to both him and Jacen.

"Yes, and in that he is correct. However, if you are skilled enough, you can alter what happened in the past to considerable effect. That is basically what we did. We altered a crucial event, and as a result, changed the past in order to preserve this present, and hopefully the future." K'kruhk said.

Jacen's eyes widened in realisation.

"Centerpoint...three years ago...you were flow walking from your own time weren't you?" he asked Leia, who nodded.

"Yes." She said, and Luke's eyes narrowed.

"Leia, you can't just change time on a whim! What the hell made you do it?" he demanded, and all of them were looking scared, rattled and shocked.

"Well if you let me explain..." Leia said irritably, but K'kruhk cut across her.

"It was necessary young Luke. In our timeline, a great threat was stirring, as it is stirring in this timeline. However, we had no chance of victory. The galaxy would fall before the true threat, and nothing would be left alive. We had to do what we did in order to save the galaxy." He explained, and Luke looked concerned, as did the others.

"What true threat?" Jaina asked worriedly.

"I don't know yet, he hasn't told me. But in the timeline we came from, things were a lot different. Thrackan Sal-Solo didn't die on Centerpoint, and it wasn't destroyed. Other rebellious worlds joined with them and formed a massive Separatist movement that sent us back into another civil war." Leia said, and the others were shocked into silence.

"The war was tragic. Millions died needlessly, and things got worse and worse before it came to an end at the Battle of Shedu Maad. But...I readily admit that saving the galaxy was only one of my concerns when we changed time. I did it to save this family." Leia continued, and everyone was hanging on her every word, and she took a deep breath and looked lovingly and apologetically to Jacen.

"The war changed things. Lumiya," she said, and there was a sharp intake of breath from Luke, "came back, and convinced Jacen to turn to the dark side. He did, and he became a Sith Lord called Darth Caedus." Leia said sadly.

Jacen looked at her, his expression hurt. Ben and Jaina both shook their heads adamantly.

"Jacen couldn't turn to the dark side, he's too good a person! He wouldn't become a Sith." Ben said fiercely, looking at Jacen, hating to see him hurt.

"Yeah, he's an arrogant pain in the ass at times, but he isn't a Sith." Jaina scoffed, though she could feel the hurt that was in Jacen streaming through their re-established twin bond.

Leia sighed.

"I know this hard, for all of us, and most of all for you Jacen. But you did. You became a Sith called Darth Caedus. You deposed Chief Omas and took over the Alliance. You tried to turn Ben to the dark side, you tortured him, and you succeeded in turning Tahiri. You...you killed Mara." Leia said, and this time, tears blossomed in Jacen's eyes and he recoiled slightly from his mother and looked desperately at his aunt and his cousin.

Ben looked at him in shock, but mostly in his eyes was concern for Jacen. He could sense that Leia was telling the truth, but in her timeline, it had been a different Jacen. His Jacen couldn't hurt him, and he knew it. So, he gave his cousin a weak smile and shook his head.

Mara, perhaps sensing her nephew's anxious look, or maybe just trying to break the dark pall that had just settled on them, let out a bark of laughter.

"Ha! As if he could kill me." She scoffed, and the mood lightened a little, but she had a horrible suspicion that Leia was going to go on and tell more horrid tales.

"She's telling the truth..." Luke said in disbelief, looking at Jacen in concern.

"Yeah, I am. I don't want to tell you but I have to. Jacen got steadily worse, killing innocent people, all in the name of galactic peace. And we eventually decided that we couldn't hide anymore, and we actively condoned...Jaina's mission to kill him." Leia said, looking at her two kids in despair.

Tears of shock, horror and revulsion were running down both their cheeks. Ben took both their hands and tried to comfort them, but he too was crying. Han was looking at Leia, Jacen and Jaina with a slack mouth, and Luke and Mara were looking at each other in fear. The other timeline...something had gone spectacularly wrong.

"But...why?" Luke demanded weakly, and though he didn't fully trust Jacen, he knew he was no dark sider, and he loved his nephew despite their arguments about Ben.

Leia sighed, and began to open her mouth, but K'kruhk cut her off with a look. There were things that they wouldn't know. She looked at him desperately, and he produced a small disk from his belt.

"This will shed some light on things. Jacen made some poor choices, very poor indeed, and he actively chose to become a Sith in order to try and save the galaxy. But...none of you present helped much either." He said firmly, and slipped the disc into Artoo, who beeped mournfully.

"It's your judgement isn't it?" Leia asked sadly, and he nodded, and winked slightly to let her know it was edited.

"Then I'm going to the loo, I don't want to hear it again, once was more than enough." She said.

She waited until the faint noises of the rant were over, then she entered to find them all sitting in shock. Luke was white , his eyes wide in revulsion. He hadn't tried to redeem his nephew, who he loved. He had redeemed Vader, but hadn't even tried with Jacen, even before he had killed Mara. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

Mara had tears in her eyes and her face was red with shame. She knew the dark side, knew what it was, and when she had known Jacen was going there, she made a feeble attempt, and that had eventually wound up in her death. She shivered.

Han looked at Jacen tearfully, his mouth open. His son had become a murderer, but rather than try to figure out what they had done wrong, he had just walked away. He had left his son to become a tyrant. He felt ashamed to call himself a parent.

Ben looked at Jacen, tears falling down his face. He had known what was going on apparently, and hadn't told anyone because he loved Jacen too much. And when he had it had gotten his mother killed, and lost her and Jacen to him. He stifled a sob.

Jaina had scrunched herself up and she was sobbing onto her knees. She had abandoned her brother to the dark side. She had known what was happening, but because of her own stupid pride and her own little love triangle, she had let him become a monster, a slayer of kin, and then she had had to kill him herself. The thought was just too awful to bear, and she wanted to throw up. Instead though, she hugged her brother to her, hoping that he would comfort his would be killer, and hoping that in some way she would comfort him.

And Jacen was the worst of all. He was white as a sheet, his eyes were red with tears and his face was streaked with tear streaks. He was shivering in fear and revulsion, and recoiled when Jaina touched him, and he looked at his twin, his would be killer. And then he let himself get brought into her arms and despite the horrible sickness he felt with himself, despite the fact that he felt dirty and unclean, and despite the fact that he just wanted to go home and cry, he wrapped his arms around her too. And the next second he felt Ben hug him tightly and lovingly as the entire family reeled from the bombshell.

"Perhaps I should get this published." K'kruhk said musingly as Artoo returned it to him with a mournful noise, but even the spirited little droid didn't get the joke, and Threepio also managed to look sad.

He then looked at them all and cleared his throat and they reluctantly looked at him.

"I know you all feel like the lowest scum in the galaxy...I'm saying nothing either way," he said, but Leia knew full well that he felt they deserved to feel like that, "but they were extreme circumstances. The Second Galactic Civil War was a disaster. Jacen becoming Caedus was a disaster. Mara dying was a disaster. None of it should ever have happened. We changed time to undo that catastrophe. Not just because we could, but because we needed to in order to try and save the galaxy from the true threat. And now, we have a chance." He said firmly.

They still didn't respond, and K'kruhk looked at them sadly.

"And it is my belief that after everything this family has done, it was time for the Force to give a little something back. You now have a second chance. Make the most of it." He said kindly, and winked at Jacen, who was the only one who met his eyes.

Jacen sniffed deeply and said in a tear filled, wavering voice...

"I won't become a Sith."

Leia then knelt down on the floor in front of him and pulled him into her arms, breaking the embrace he had with his sister and cousin.

"I know you won't baby. And even if you do start to go dark...this time we won't let you become a Sith. We'll be right there to bring you back." She vowed softly and he leaned his head against her shoulder.

Han then grinned, a sad grin, but a grin.

"Yeah. And besides, seems to me like we've already averted what went wrong. We fixed all of us didn't we kid?" he said, and Jacen smiled slightly at his father and Han pulled him into a hug.

Luke and Mara looked at each other sadly, then Mara smiled and ruffled Jacen's hair.

"We won't let you fall. For the main reason that I'm a bit too fond of breathing to let you become a Sith. I bet you cheated." She said petulantly, and Jacen let out a weak giggle, and Leia and Han fought to repress grins.

Luke looked at Jacen, right into the eyes, and Jacen recoiled slightly, but Luke shook his head and brought him into a one armed hug.

"We will save you if you fall. If anyone falls, we'll save them. And we will make sure that none of us kill each other, torture each other or have to hunt each other down...provided your damn fool mother doesn't change time again." He said with a wink and Jacen and Mara actually laughed and Leia looked most affronted.

"Why am I getting the blame for all this?" she demanded.

"You're the one who started all this. It's all your fault your worship." Han sniggered, and Leia raised her hands in exasperation.

"And I promise I won't kill you. Ok, I might kill you if you pinch my chocolate éclair like you did last time, but not for any other reason." Jaina vowed, and she and Jacen embraced.

"I love you sis." Jacen said softly.

"And I love you too." She said, enjoying the contact.

Ben then stood up and grinned.

"And if you start behaving badly, or doing mean stuff to me, I'll drop you in it." He promised and Jacen smiled and hugged his cousin and ruffled his hair lovingly.

"But that doesn't mean you go and tell your mom and dad that Jacen's going dark just because he makes you do the washing up." Han said with a crooked grin and Ben snorted.

"So, no turning to the dark side, no killing each other, everyone communicating, all getting on, all singing and all dancing?" K'kruhk asked hopefully.

"YES!" they answered in unison, and he could feel the mood lift by their stand of unity, and he smiled.

"Aww." He said, tears appearing in his own eyes and he blew his nose.

"You know, I was going to yell at you for vanishing and changing time. But I much prefer having my wife and nephew alive, and my son untortured, so I'll let you off." Luke said, and Leia smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose considering what you both did you're off the hook for vanishing." Jaina said sweetly.

"Marvellous. So we're all one big happy family again!" Threepio exclaimed happily.

"Not happy...not yet anyway Threepio." Jacen said quietly.

"But we will be." Leia promised and kissed her son's cheek.

K'kruhk looked out of the window where the sun was just coming up, bathing Coruscant in early morning light.

"Well I must be off. I think we all deserve some rest. Come to me tomorrow at my office. But, you deserve some time together, and I deserve a day off. Until tomorrow my friends." He said, put on his hat, doffed it to them, and headed off.

"Thanks mom...for fixing me...for fixing all of us." Jacen said as he hugged his mother lovingly.

"Anytime darling." She said and meant it.

The entire family then embraced again as the sun rose and bathed them all in a new light.

XX

Hours later, Jaina sat in her quarters in the temple, looking at the picture on her sideboard of her and Jacen, sitting with their arms around each other, smiling happily. It had been a long night, full of joy and immense sorrow. But their mother, against all odds, had saved them all, had saved the galaxy...had saved the family. And while they were all reeling from Leia's revelation, they were also closer than they had been in years, and it felt good.

"I'm glad I fixed our bond bro." She said, smiling at the picture, then turned to the one beside it.

Jagged Fel stared up at her. Deciding he could wait a while, she went to sleep, just as the temple began to awake outside.

XX

Ben cuddled into Jacen. At sixteen, he was the age when boys try their damndest to avoid all forms of human contact. But considering the massive bombshell his aunt had dropped on them all, he had quite happily hugged both his mother and father, and had told them that he loved them, and had the same back.

And now he was with one of the other people he loved most in the galaxy, and just being there. His mom had asked him if he was coming home with them, but when it had appeared that Jaina was going back to the temple, he had decided to come here with Jacen, to keep an eye on him. And for once, his father had actually liked the idea, and had smiled and nodded at Ben's choice.

Jacen was still fairly white, and still quite upset, but he knew it would pass. Jacen was sitting in the middle of the sofa, doubtlessly planning on just flopping down, and most likely crying himself to sleep. He'd had a horrendous shock. Being told you were a Sith, who had killed millions, including his own aunt, and tortured his own cousin constituted a bad day for anyone who had feelings. But Ben knew Jacen would bounce back stronger than ever, and would most likely keep a very wide berth of anything faintly dark side.

"Looks like I was right." Ben commented lightly as he leaned gently against Jacen.

"About what buddy?" Jacen asked curiously.

"About the dark side leading to high blood pressure." He said, grinning and Jacen actually smiled and lightly smacked him in the ear.

"Smart arse." He said with a smile, and Ben cuddled him, and Jacen didn't protest, and sort of relaxed into it.

It was odd for the two of them to be so close, but they were very close, more like close brothers than cousins, and neither of them minded in the slightest when they turned to each other for comfort.

"I won't let you fall." Ben promised quietly, and Jacen smiled at his pseudo-brother.

"I know." He said with a grin, then sighed.

"What?" Ben asked, fearing his usually strong cousin was going to cry again.

Jacen was pretty good when Ben was crying, but as it didn't happen that often, if at all, Ben wasn't sure how he would go about calming Jacen down.

"I was just thinking about going to sleep. But I don't know if I can." He said simply.

"How not?" Ben asked, wondering if Jacen was scared he would get nightmares.

"Well if I fall asleep I might wake up to find your irate mother and Master Sabatyne standing at the door because I made you do the laundry yesterday." He said, sniggering.

Ben scowled in mock annoyance.

"Swine, you made me think you were going to cry again. No fair! But no I won't. But I can't make any promises for making me clean the toilet." Ben snickered and Jacen laughed.

"I love you Ben." Jacen said.

"I love you too Jacen." Ben said.

Most boys would rather fly solo against the Death Star than admit they loved someone, even if it was family. And they wouldn't do it at all if they were the same gender. But Ben always felt safe with Jacen. And he owed him for the times he had cheered him up. And besides, he didn't see what was wrong with telling someone you were close to how much you loved them.

And he loved Jacen a lot, and Jacen loved him back. With that thought, the two of them fell asleep.

XX

"Well that was fun we must do that more often." Mara commented as they lay in bed.

Luke laughed.

"Um, no thanks. Finding out that my sister had to change time to stop my wife being dead, my nephew being a dead Sith Lord and my son being tortured isn't high on my list of favourite nights out at Leia's. I'd much rather play trivial pursuits like last time." He said, smiling.

He, Jacen, Han and Ben had thrashed Leia, Jaina, Mara and Threepio, much to their great revulsion.

"No thanks. You four cheat." She said haughtily as she squirmed up to him.

"Do not."

"Do to."

"Do not."

"Do to."

The two continued the childish banter as they both settled down to go to sleep.

"No wonder our son comes out with so much rubbish. He was raised around it." Luke said, and found himself actually agreeing with Ben for once...the dark side, or at least news about it, did lead to high blood pressure.

Not that he would admit it.

"Don't blame me farmboy." Mara whispered sleepily.

"It's your fault though. But Mara?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're not dead." He said, and she laughed quietly as they fell asleep.

XX

Artoo whistled happily.

"What do you mean it beats the last time?" Threepio asked curiously.

Artoo explained about Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, who Threepio couldn't remember due to a memory wipe.

"Oh I see. Yes I must agree, no one being dead or evil is a vast improvement." Threepio agreed.

Artoo then twittled something.

"You really think I'm a hero?" Threepio asked in interest.

Artoo beeped an affirmative. Leia had explained that it was Threepio who had sent her to K'kruhk in the first place. So, in a way, it was all his doing.

"Yes. Perhaps you're right. Good night my little friend." Threepio said and the two companions powered down.

XX

"So you aren't mad?" Leia asked in amusement.

Han turned on his pillow to look at her.

"Well call me sentimental, but I reckon that you changing time beats having a dead son and sister in law all hollow." He said with his trademark grin.

"Thought you might." Leia said, and kissed him lightly.

"And if you think things are that bad you need to change time again to save family, I'll be behind you all the way." He promised.

"Thank you dear." She said and they both settled into sleep.

However a few minutes later, Leia spoke again.

"Han?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened to my nice vase?" she asked innocently.

"Oh kriff." Han swore.

**And so we reach the end of Episode I!**

**I admit it twisted canon a little bit, but I hope you'll forgive me that. I just think Jacen's death was totally silly and pointless, and he had so much more to do for Star Wars, so here is back again! Mara too is also back, as I miss her character, and I also think it's rude that they didnt tell Timothy Zahn before they killed her. However, as the timeline has been changed, they arent the only one who is once more alive...**

**And Dr Jempa was in fact everyone's favourite Whiphid K'kruhk! I always liked him, and fear not we have not seen the last of him, never fear. And other familiar faces may yet appear...**

**The Alliance has also changed, and I can tell you that the new Chief of State replacing Cal Omas is in fact Releqy A'kla, Elegos' daughter, as she seems to have vanished off the face of the galaxy.**

**Other old friends will soon appear, along with old enemies as thing begin to heat up.**

**I hope you like the fact that Jacen is back and that his relationships are mostly fixed with his family from the Vong War aftermath. And I always think of Ben and Jacen being incredibly close so bear with me on that one.**

**So next time, we go onto episode II! Who will we see? What will happen? Time will tell!**

**I hope you enjoyed the first episode of Fate of the Force, and we are a third of the way through now. Hopefully the first chapter of Impact will be up soon.**

**Right, hope you enjoyed the first installment, and until next time, please read and review!**

**P.S I am now going to go and put up the entry crawl for Episode II, so enjoy!**

**P.P.S Thank you to NKCSF for his help in helping decide the class of a ship which will appear later on.**


	6. Episode II: Entry Crawl

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

**Star Wars: Fate of the Force**

**Episode II: Impact**

_The entire galaxy has been changed by the decisions of Leia Organa Solo. Allying with Old Republic Jedi Master K'kruhk, she has gone back in time to prevent the destructive Second Galactic Civil War, the death of her sister in law Mara Jade Skywalker and the fall and death of her remaining son Jacen Solo. By doing so, she and K'kruhk hope to give the galaxy a chance to defeat the ancient and terrible Abeloth, freed from her prison within the Maw Cluster, and stop her before she uses her strange powers to destroy the galaxy. Now, the Skywalker and Solo family seek to ally with the evil Sith Lord Lumiya, along with insane dark Jedi Alema Rar in order to form a Force coalition that will be enough to vanquish Abeloth once and for all._

_However, unbeknownst to Leia and her family, the evil Lady Lumiya has a plan, one which will see her old enemies dead, and return the Sith back to galactic prominence. Allying with the leader of the One Sith Darth Krayt, and with her former apprentice with whom she split years ago, the mysterious force sensitive Yuuzhan Vong woman known by the alias of Vongerella, Lumiya intends to deal a terrible blow to the Skywalker/Solo family, enact her ultimate revenge, and allow the Sith to take over the galaxy once again. Acting as a behind the scenes conspirator with several disgruntled and highly placed members of galactic society, she plans to use their loyalty to her in order to usher in a new era of Sith rule and change the galaxy forever._

_But most dangerous of all is the threat of Abeloth. With her powers expanding, and a Jedi group bearing down on her planet within the Maw, she has sensed that her time has come. Soon now, she will enact her vengeance across the galaxy, and Jedi, Sith and non sensitive alike will all be threatened by her ravenous hunger and her desperate need to consume all that she sees. Soon now, the Skywalkers coalition with the Solos, the Sith and the Jedi of the Old Republic will face their ultimate battle against this evil entity. And unless the entire galaxy unites behind them, Abeloth may very well destroy all for which the family has fought for and suffered through over the years.. However, as distrust and deceit arise, the galaxy may be doomed to fall into Abeloth's ravenous hunger, or into the shadow of the evil Sith..._

**On to Episode II!**

**An alliance is in the offing to bring about the defeat of Abeloth. Will they ally, or will they fall? **

**I told you others aside from Jacen would be back. So just what is Lumiya's evil plan? Why is Krayt allying with her? Why is this mysterious Vongerella aiding her, and what is her true objective? And who are those highly placed members who Lumiya seeks to use to usher in a new era of Sith dominance?**

**But Abeloth is the true threat. A group of K'kruhk's Jedi is now en route to face her within the Maw. Who is a member of this party? And do they truly comprehend the power they face?**

**The galaxy stands at a three way juncture! But which way will it fall? Time will tell!**

**Until then please read and review!**


	7. Episode II: Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars (or I'd redo Legacy of the Force)**

Fate of the Force

Deep in space, a battle scarred _Imperial _class Star Destroyer was limping between the stars. The ship had been on the run for weeks, with a task force led by Jedi Master Corran Horn chasing it. The task force was made up of Booster Terrik's own ISD, the _Errant Venture_, and was also joined by General Wedge Antilles, who was in command of the Mon Calamari Cruiser _Aqua Blue_, along with three Assault Frigates, called the _Dodonna_, the _Madine_ and the _Chewbacca_. They had been hunting this particular Star Destroyer for two months and were finally getting close to destroying it.

Various turbolasers had been destroyed, one of the engines was gone, and there were several large holes in the Destroyer, some from damage inflicted during the Yuuzhan Vong War, but the smaller holes, caused by the proton missiles of the various X-Wings that had been attacking the ship in their drive to bring the captain of the Destroyer to justice.

Leonia Tavira, the former Moff of Eiattu and the commander of the _Invidious_ sighed as her ship limped through space. Ever since she had performed a daring raid on a Galactic Alliance base on Bakura for supplies, she had been given a high priority target label from Admiral Niathal, with the orders to either bring her in or destroy her. Her fighters were all gone and all she had left were a few shuttles and a Bulk Transport in the hold. And she was tired of it.

The Jedi Order, under the advice of Corran Horn, who had a score to settle with her because she had kidnapped his wife years ago, had volunteered for the mission, and they had gotten Wedge to lead the task force after her. Now she had the entire Horn family on her tail, an Alliance task force, and Booster Terrik was also after her blood for kidnapping his daughter. As such she was in severe trouble, and another battle with the Alliance task force would finish off her ship, and if Terrik had his way maybe finish her off too.

"Boss, we can't survive another battle with that task force. We have to surrender!" one man said from the crew pit.

The _Invidious _was not a normal Imperial cruiser. Tavira had in fact been given the Star Destroyer from High Admiral Teradoc, one of the various warlords that Daala had subjugated after the death of the reborn Emperor, as a thank you for her help in dealing with an up and coming warlords, and for a generous payment of credits and her sexual favours. She had taken her ISD and had taken over the pirate band known as the Invids. After the loss of the Jensaarai she had gone on the run, keeping her head down and preying on the outer reaches of the galaxy. However, when the Vong War had begun she had been caught short at Rutan and had been attacked by the invaders, who destroyed most of the other ships in the Invid gang. She had then fled to the Deep Core, but had in fact run across Admiral Daala, whose fleet was defending several worlds from Vong trepidations, and Tavira had been on the run ever since. Tavira, at considerable expense, had hired an agent who had found out that Daala had tipped off Pellaeon, the leader of the Imperial Remnant about her existence. As the two of them thought she was little more than a warlord at best, a pirate at worst, Pellaeon had happily swapped his news with the members of the Galactic Alliance command after his ascension to rank of Supreme Commander during the Killik Crisis. As such, she had been on the run since.

But over the last few months, the galaxy had been relatively stable. Despite the fact that Pellaeon had returned to Bastion to lead the Remnant in peace, his successor to the rank of Supreme Commander, Admiral Cha Niathal had been hunting down various pirate groups, and the fact that Tavira wielded a Star Destroyer, albeit one that had seen better days, made her a high priority, especially when an increasingly desperate Tavira had attacked Bakura in order to get supplies. She was now being hounded towards Bimmiel.

She supposed that she could risk a raid to try and get some supplies, or try to get her remaining people out on the few ships she had left, and just leave her beloved Star Destroyer to be scrapped by the Alliance. But she couldn't. They may not have Imperial discipline, and she may not even think of herself as an Imperial anymore, but they would still not cede the _Invidious _to the Alliance without a fight. And if it led to their death...she would just have to make sure they took them with her.

XX

In hyperspace a fleet was travelling. However, it was not the task force that was hunting down Leonia Tavira with the intent of destroying her. This fleet was hunting her down with the intention of saving her, but time was short and as the Alliance was getting closer, they would have to hurry before they lost their prey.

Three _Imperial _class Star Destroyers were hurtling through space, fully armed, outfitted and operation. Flanking the three ISDs were two Nebulon Frigates, and dotted at point guard positions around the fleet were four Corellian Corvettes.

On the bridge of the Star Destroyer _Behemoth_ a woman stood. She was clad all in black, though her arms and legs were both metallic silver. A veil covered her scarred face, which was framed by a triangular headdress. Piercing green eyes looked out from over the veil at the blue tunnel of lightspeed.

"With all due respect my lady, Tavira is scum. She's nothing more than a pirate. And besides, if your agents are right, as they so often are, the _Invidious _is on its last legs. It hardly seems worth the effort." Said General Wethen, the commanding officer of the entire fleet.

He was a stout man, with a small neatly trimmed black moustache which was now tinged with severe grey, as was his rapidly eroding hair line. He had served her for years, and had helped her administer the rotation of the considerable number of people under her command so that they could have lives and set up small towns on fairly unimportant planets when the fleet wasn't needed. However, as her plan was finally in full swing, they were all needed, and while families stayed behind on worlds such as Bimmiel, Birgis, Plooma, Lorrd and others in close proximity, the fleet was ready to do whatever their lady required of it.

Lumiya turned to Wethen and sighed.

"I know it is distasteful General. But, if I convince Lord Krayt and Vongerella to agree to my plan, for the final acts we will need more power to head off the power of Vongerella's fleet, and most likely whatever Krayt has as well. Vongerella I can figure, but I don't know exactly what sort of ships or how many Krayt has. As a result, we need to hold them off if things come to the worse. We need to be able to effectively counter the power of the One Sith's fleet." She explained patiently.

She knew her general was an honourable man who didn't like sullying the name of the Empire, which he felt his mistress was the only true servant of now, twenty four years after Grand Admiral Pellaeon had signed the Bastion Accords. He had staunchly refused to believe the Empire was at peace with their enemies, and that had kept him, and the entire fleet loyal to Lumiya throughout the Vong War. He believed her promises that very soon they would reclaim their former glory and return the Empire to prominence. The galaxy needed an Empire in order to establish order, and they needed a strong hand to guide it. Palpatine, for all his faults, had been a firm hand, and they believed that Lumiya would be exactly the same once her plan materialised.

"But you said we would be getting the _Dominion_." Wethen said.

"And we shall General. But for all its power, even allied with our fleet, the _Dominion_ will not be nearly enough to counter both Krayt and Vongerella's fleet. Especially if the Alliance do not play the game exactly as I want them to. Hence, we need more firepower. And for that, we need the _Invidious_. And besides, Tavira can get us more of what we need." Lumiya explained.

The _Dominion_ was one of the three Super Star Destroyers that belonged to the Imperial Remnant. The only one that wasn't assigned to planetary defence, it had become a sort of flagship for the various Imperial Moffs, most of whom Lumiya was conspiring with to eventually topple the ageing Grand Admiral Pellaeon, and allow for the eventual return of the Sith and the Empire to prominence. Its presence within Lumiya's fleet would certainly make the already considerable fleet a bigger force to be reckoned with.

If there was anything left of it.

"Lady Lumiya, we are approaching Tavira's last known position. Not far from home as well." A young man who had been born in service said from the crew pit.

"Thank you. Colonel Vessery, prepare your fighters." Lumiya ordered.

Colonel Broak Vessery had once served Director of Intelligence Ysanne Isard in yet another one of her plots to destroy Rogue Squadron. However, after her death they had fled with his two squadrons of TIE Defenders, which were more powerful than any other TIE fighter in the entire Imperial Navy. He had happened upon Lumiya's fleet not long after, when they had been locked in combat with a fleet that had been sent by the reborn Emperor to kill her for her presumption in taking the moniker of Dark Lord of the Sith. Not having been told by Isard of the Emperor's return, he had joined with Lumiya and his two squadrons had caught the Palpatine-loyal ships by surprise and had broken their lines, and Lumiya had led her fleet to victory, destroying the Emperor's fleet. He had joined her then, and he remained with her ever since. He was a noble man, with noble features, and he offered her a quick salute as he headed to the hangars.

Lumiya smiled tightly. The _Behemoth_ was outfitted with six fighter squadrons, as were all ISDs, but Lumiya doubted that any other ship still in Imperial service had all six fighter squadrons that were Defenders like her flagship. While the _Fury _and the _Rampage_ both had the usual mix of TIE Fighters, Bombers and Interceptors, the six Defender Squadrons of the _Behemoth _had been most helpful during the Vong War in the few battles that they had participated in, such as the Battle of Yaga Minor, the Battle of Plooma and the Second Battle of Borgis.

A few minutes later, the fleet dropped out of lightspeed. Her four Corvettes immediately cut off Tavira's escape route, while her Nebulons prevented her from commencing manoeuvres. Her three Star Destroyers then encircled Tavira's ISD, as TIE Defenders cascaded from the hangar of the _Behemoth_ and swarmed around the Destroyer.

"Not much to look at." Wethen said grimly, looking at the mess that had been made of the ISD.

Lumiya had to admit that he had a point. The _Invidious_ had sustained severe damage. However, a few weeks of repair from her technicians would set that right and make the _Invidious _a fully operational Star Destroyer again.

"She is cut off my lady. Shall I open communications?" a curious young Rodian asked, eager to please his mistress.

Lumiya smiled at him and nodded. He was new to the bridge of the _Behemoth _due to the former officer in communications retiring. And he seemed more than eager to please his new mistress, the enigmatic and elusive Lady Lumiya, who they had all heard about but few had ever seen unless they were part of the original crew of her fleet, or if they were members of the crew of the _Behemoth_.

The holo sprang to life and the image of Tavira appeared before her. She was probably a few years younger than Lumiya herself, but she was beginning to look older. Her black hair was streaked with grey rather than the stylish silver highlights she had once favoured. Wrinkles had appeared on her once beautiful face, and her violet eyes had lost some of their spark and impetuousness in the long years of being on the run. Lumiya permitted herself a smile under her veil. Served the arrogant little pest right. But, she did want the Star Destroyer, so she had to play nice.

"Moff Leonia Tavira, I am Lady Lumiya. You may remember that I allied myself with your former boss Ysanne Isard." She said in greeting, and Tavira stuck out her chin arrogantly.

"I remember. You are a long way from Korriban, Sith. What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.

"I have been tracking you down in order to help you, so that in return you will help me." Lumiya said firmly, as Wethen and the bridge crew looked on in interest.

"No...disrespect intended Lady Lumiya," her tone suggesting she did intend disrespect, "but I am currently being hunted by an Alliance task force and a Jedi Master."

Lumiya smiled, comfortable in the fact that all she had to do was raise her hand and use the Force and she could Tavira's miserable life in a heartbeat.

"I know you are. Horn can be quite...irritating with that one track mind of his. As they are most likely even now hurtling towards us, I suggest you listen up. I wish to have your aid. I want your Star Destroyer to join my fleet, and I want you to do your level best to expand the fleet at my behest. In return, I will fake the destruction of your ship and allow you to escape Alliance justice, and by so doing give you the eventual chance to avenge yourself on your hunters. After my plan reaches fruition, if you serve me loyally, you will rule an entire sector in the new galaxy that we will create." Lumiya said, coming straight to the point.

Tavira looked incredulous.

"You want me to drop what I am doing, put my ship under you, in exchange for a vague promise of revenge later on?" she demanded.

Lumiya narrowed her green eyes, and Wethen had to suppress a smile. The young Rodian who had just joined the bridge crew was about to see why one did not tangle with the Dark Lady of the Sith.

"Listen to me very closely Tavira. I shall use small words so as not to overload your greed driven mind. The Alliance is coming to get you. Looking at your ship, one or two more battles will kill it. I have a plan in the works, that will restore the Empire to glory and return us to our rightful place as rulers of the galaxy," she continued in a harsh voice, and Tavira's eyes widened, thinking the 'us' that was mentioned meant the Empire when in truth it meant the Sith, "and all that I need from you in order for you to be a part of this, and to escape the coming Alliance task force is the service of your Star Destroyer and a little extra help afterwards. When I succeed in my plan, I will give you an entire sector, to do with as you please, and that will make paltry little Eiattu look rather like a church abbey rather than a wealthy world."

Lumiya knew that playing on Tavira's greed was the way to win her over, and Tavira's eyes were already glossing over in greed. But, being an arrogant pest as she was, she was interested to see how far she could push this mysterious Sith.

"Your offer intrigues me...but you aren't getting my ship." She said with a cocky smile.

Lumiya rolled her eyes. The woman's greed was useful for Lumiya, and in some ways good for Tavira herself, but it was also her greatest weakness as she didn't understand that sometimes you had to compromise to get something more. So, in the manner of her master, Darth Vader, Lumiya raised her hand, and Tavira's eyes began to bulge and she pulled at her tunic, trying to loosen the powerful unseen grip around her neck.

"Do not test me Tavira. Your greed can be useful, but if it derails my plans in the slightest, I will end your meagre existence in a heartbeat. I am leaving behind Star Destroyer debris to throw off the Alliance task force. Whether it is the debris I have collected, or the debris of the _Invidious_ is up to you. Your ship will serve me, and you will do as I order, and will expand my fleet to the letter of the orders I give you. Or I will destroy you." Lumiya promised and relaxed her Force grip.

Tavira wheezed for breath and looked resentfully at Lumiya, but Lumiya could see that she had won. Her greed would keep her loyal enough until she had to be removed.

"Oh alright. I'll do it. You can have the _Invidious_." She said grudgingly, and the Sith smiled in delight, as did Wethen.

"Excellent. See how nice it is to be agreeable? Now, when you are taken to the place we use for repairs, you and some of my stormtroopers will take what miserable shuttles you have, and the Bulk Transport and you will sell them. You will take the _Firestorm_ and you will gather a force of _Lambda_ class shuttles and _Sentinel _class landing craft to outfit my fleet with. You will also in your travels look for an Interdictor Cruiser, and will look to find another warship to add to my fleet. Do this, and I will give you the sector of your choice when my plan succeeds."

Tavira glowered. She had never liked being told what to do, and having to listen to the rants about Darth Vader from the imposter Prince Harran all those years ago had turned her against the Sith as well. And here was a powerful Sith telling her what to do. She didn't like it. But, Lumiya would fix her ship, and had promised her an entire sector, so she supposed she could go along with it, and get her what ships she needed. And then she could abandon Lumiya when the time was right.

"Fine. I want the Corellian sector." Tavira said.

Lumiya shook her head. When her plan triumphed, Corellia and the entire sector would be put under martial law to prevent the pitiful little rebellions they were so fond of.

"No. You take the Bothan sector, or you get nothing."

Tavira thought about it. The Bothans were quite wealthy, they had some military manufacturing ability, they had nice worlds, and they had the Spynet. Yes, she could live with that.

"Done." Tavira said.

"Excellent. We will talk more later." Lumiya said and turned off the holo, and turned to Wethen.

"Recall Vessery and slave the _Invidious_ to our navicomputer. Have the other Destroyers deploy the debris in a close formation, then have them fire on it to fool the Alliance. Then set your course for the Bimmiel system." She ordered.

"As you wish my lady." Wethen said with a bow.

Ten minutes later, the enflamed debris of what would roughly constitute an ISD was abandoned and Lumiya's fleet leapt into hyperspace, the _Invidious _going with it.

XX

The Alliance task force dropped out of lightspeed, and Corran Horn, on the bridge of his father in law's own personal _Imperial _class Star Destroyer the _Errant Venture_, formerly Ysanne Isard's _Virulence_ during the Bacta War, stretched out, wary for trouble. He was getting on in years, and he had a small beard and kept his hair trimmed to just above his ears. He had pushed for the Council to help Admiral Niathal track down the renegade Moff Leonia Tavira, who had been on the run for years, and had recently attacked Bakura in order to get supplies. When he had found out that his old friend and commanding officer Wedge Antilles was leading the task force, he had offered his services, especially as he had an old grudge with Tavira as she had many years before kidnapped his wife Mirax.

He looked out at the scene, and cursed.

The _Invidious _had been destroyed. Tavira must have initiated the self destruct.

"Damn her!" he snarled.

Valin, his son, looked irritably at the mess of debris. He was like his father, but his hair was black like his mothers. He was a courageous Jedi Knight and Corran had been quite happy to have his son join him on the trip.

"She's still out there." He concluded, stretching out with the Force.

"You sure son?" Booster asked, coming up beside them.

He was a tall and imposing man, with a large beard and was quite bulky. He loved his family to a fault however, and despite his sometimes frosty relationship with Corran, they did manage to work together.

"Yeah. I can feel it." Valin said in disappointment.

"Blast her." Corran said as Wedge's holo materialised before them.

"Looks like she escaped again Corran. But, with the _Invidious _gone, she shouldn't cause much trouble." He said, looking tired.

They were all getting too old for this.

"You reckon it's enough to please Niathal and Bwua'tu?" Booster asked absently, because now that the threat was technically over, he did have a business to run, although he would like to get his hands on Tavira and wring her neck.

Corran looked at Wedge, who nodded.

"Yes. She primarily wanted the _Invidious _gone. Now that it is, we can go home. The Invids are finished. Twenty two years later than it should have been, but they are finished." Wedge said.

Valin frowned.

"She's still out there though." He argued.

"I know she is son, but we can't have the task force go on a manhunt. Xandel Carivus proved the folly of that." Corran said in exhaustion.

"Who?" Valin asked, and Wedge and Corran laughed.

"Before your time kid. So, you three going back to Coruscant?" Booster asked.

"May as well. Roll out the welcome wagon Wedge. I don't like it, but the mission is over. We'll even the score with Tavira at a later date." Corran said.

"See you in a bit." Wedge said and flickered out.

After they had all said their goodbyes and Corran and Valin had joined Wedge on the _Aqua Blue_ and headed for home, Booster looked out at the wreckage. Something didn't feel right. Which, if he felt it, and not just Corran and Valin, it couldn't mean anything good.

XX

The _Invidious _was settled and was beginning the long process of being repaired in orbit around Bimmiel, which was uninhabited aside from Lumiya's forces. Several of Lumiya's troops had taken the shuttles and the Bulk Transport from the hangar of Tavira's ship and had sold them in the surrounding systems, before being picked up on the _Firestorm_. Lumiya met Tavira in her quarters. She had assembled a list of ships and supplies for Tavira to get in the Corporate Sector, and she was sending the leader of her red armoured stormtroopers, Captain Valek along with her to keep her in line, along with two squads of his troops, who would pilot her new ships back to the rendezvous with the fleet.

Having lost several of the shuttles and landing craft during the war, it was important that they get replaced before the culmination of Lumiya's plotting.

"So, you want me to get you these ships, an Interdictor and a new warship?" Tavira demanded, though she kept a note of respect in her voice now that she knew what Lumiya could do.

Lumiya smiled slightly.

"Yes. Replace my shuttles and landing craft. I have enough people scattered about in various colonies to fully outfit the _Invidious_ and an Interdictor. And if push really came to shove, I could also manage to get enough people to operate another ISD." She said.

Tavira was shocked. This Lumiya had disappeared many years ago, and she had apparently been busy, amassing support for whatever she had in mind and she apparently had enough people loyal to her that she could field a sizeable fleet.

"Fine. But what do I do if I get you new cruisers?" Tavira asked.

"Captain Valek will be with you at all times, and will control your access to funds. I don't want you doing a runner with my cash." Lumiya said tartly, and a flicker of amusement was quickly suppressed by Tavira.

"As if I could. Your troops would shoot me before I got out of the bank." She said resentfully.

She did not much like this alliance, but Lumiya had saved her, and had promised her great wealth. So she would play along...as long as it took to free herself from the grasp of the Sith.

"Quite. Be careful Tavira. Keep your head down and do not draw attention to us. If you betray us in any way, your torment will be legendary." Lumiya promised, and Tavira was escorted from the room by her troops.

Lumiya sighed. Tavira would prove an irritant. But to keep the few members of the _Invidious_ who knew all its secrets on side, she regrettably had to keep her alive. But soon she would be expendable. And the Sith would return to glory.

Lumiya entered the bridge to see General Wethen just about to call her.

"Don't bother General, I'm here." She said as she swept up to the holo projector.

"My lady, we have just received a message from Korriban." He said, and the armoured face of Darth Krayt flickered into view.

Krayt was a legacy of the Yuuzhan Vong War. A Jedi Knight named A'sharad Hett at the time of Order 66, he had been consumed with anger and had fallen to the dark side in the years of the Galactic Civil War. He had been trained by the spirit of XoXaan, an ancient Sith Lord, and when he had left Korriban he had happened upon the Yuuzhan Vong, who had tortured him and had turned him into the armoured mass of dark side energy he was now. Vergere, an enigmatic Jedi of the Old Republic, whose mysterious aims Lumiya could never figure out, had tried to make him see the Force in a different way, as she had done with Jacen Solo, but he had refused, and had decided to create a New Sith Order.

Lumiya considered the One Sith blasphemous. She had been trained by Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, and as such closely followed Darth Bane's Rule of Two. Krayt's idea...it was far too much like the Jedi. She knew that he had quite a bit of support, enough to put a sizeable hole in the Jedi if it came to a brawl between the two, but Krayt was intent on playing a long game and preferred to remain in hiding. True, the Sith had hidden before, but he just seemed to be sitting about waiting for something, unlike her predecessors such as Darth Bane, Darth Zannah and all the way down to Sidious himself, who had been plotting to bring their enemies down. However, if she could convince him to side with her and her plan, if she played it right...the blasphemous One Sith would not be a consideration much longer.

"Lady Lumiya." He said inclining his head, knowing full well that she didn't like him much.

"Lord Krayt. I see you received my invitation." She said politely, refusing to bow her head, as to her, she was the master, and he was nothing more than an obnoxious Knight with some big ideas and a lot of hot air.

Krayt nodded, his helmet and movements not giving any hint of how old he truly was. He had a good many years on her, but no matter how impaired she was due to her injuries, she was still the master.

"Yes I did. I must say I was...intrigued by the vague details you gave me." He said.

"So you are coming?" she asked in surprise.

The two of them had met before, during the Vong War, when he had had the audacity to ask her to serve his new order. She had not quite politely told him where he could stick his invitation and had humbled him slightly. As such, he had no love for her. But her invitation had been deliberately vague in order to pique the recipients interest. Because if she could win their support as she hoped, it would make her entire plan so much easier.

"Yes. I am leaving Korriban now." He said grandly, and she smiled at him.

"Very good. I await your arrival at the Home." She said, and his holo disappeared.

Krayt was interested enough to bite the hook. This was quite interesting. And it actually set her thinking as to what he was truly after. Their meeting would reveal more, but she had a suspicion she would soon have a good idea of what she was dealing with when she dealt with Krayt.

"My lady, this Vong thing is making weird noises." A Selonian officer said in distaste as he held a villip out to her.

Lumiya permitted herself a smile at the fellow's discomfort and stroked the villip so that it opened up.

The greenish face with an overlarge eye appeared. It was the face of Vongerella, the mysterious Yuuzhan Vong Force sensitive who had appeared several years ago, during the height of the war. Known by no other name aside from to her lover Onimi, the true Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong, she had found the Home when her cruiser had dropped out of hyperspace unexpectedly, as she had felt a calling. Rather than destroying Lumiya, as the Home, the Force imbued asteroid which she used as her home when she wasn't on the _Behemoth_, had been guarded by her entire fleet at the time, she had asked to come to Lumiya. Lumiya, intrigued by the Force sensitivity of the woman had trained her as a Sith and she had to admit she had been a fine apprentice, just like Carnor Jax had been before her.

Lumiya, during Vongerella's apprenticeship, had found out much about the Vong woman. She and Onimi, who had used his puppet Shimrra to order Tsavong Lah to give her a fleet, as he had said that one day she could be the last hope for the Vong. While Lah and Nas Choka had scoffed, they had followed orders, and Vongerella had assembled a sizeable fleet, including a worldship, for her own purposes. The apprenticeship had continued, but Vongerella had never revealed the true extent of it, not fully trusting her master. However, Lumiya had been impressed, enough that she had allowed her to live and had not pressed her for details, and was quite content to leave her new apprentice to explore the dark side while she went and battled her species.

However, after Onimi had been killed by Jacen Solo, Vongerella had been furious. Lumiya had tried to urge patience, as she had spent a long time amassing support for her eventual plot to retake control of the galaxy for the Sith. Vongerella, furious that Nas Choka had surrendered, had fled on the _Dark Emissary_ and had prepared to restart the war days after the signing of the Sekot Accords. Lumiya, not wanting another apprentice to be killed just after they had been trained had pursued her on the _Behemoth_ and had finally made Vongerella see reason, and she had returned to complete her training. However, the injustice of the Vong surrender still infuriated, and rather than focus on the Sith first, and then focus on the Vong if she wanted to second, she did it the other way around, and began to use the dark side to further her own aims, finding Vong who did not like the Sekot Accords, and seemed to begin to believe that she could save the Vong.

Roughly translated, Vongerella wanted to restart the Vong War, re-establish the Yuuzhan Vong Empire over the galaxy, and make herself Supreme Overlord of the entire galaxy. Disgusted by her apprentice's plans, as Lumiya believed only a Sith could lead a unified galaxy, she had disowned Vongerella as an apprentice, casting her from the Rule of Two. Vongerella certainly wouldn't be able to take over the galaxy as a Vong, but the galaxy would not be peaceful under a Vong Empire, and it would be doomed to further chaos. But then, Lumiya had seen a way to incorporate her into her plan, and hadn't gone after her as she had Flint, intending to use her at a later time. And now that time had come about. Vongerella would be most useful.

Meanwhile though, she was sure that Vongerella was definitely up to no good, and whatever she was up to couldn't be good news for anyone.

"Master." Vongerella said, her tone relatively respectful, but not entirely.

"Vongerella." Lumiya greeted.

"I must admit, I was a little surprised to receive your summons." Vongerella said.

"So you are interested in hearing what I have to say?" Lumiya asked, and she was the one she actually _needed_ to come.

"Yes. It sounds quite interesting. I am en route to the Home now." She said, and she was clearly on the _Dark Emissary_.

"Very good. Krayt is also en route. I will be there presently." Lumiya said, and Vongerella reluctantly inclined her head and vanished as the villip rolled up.

Lumiya smiled. Now all she had to do was convince her Sith counterparts to agree to her plan, and then nothing would stop their rise to prominence. And then all she would need is for the threat that they could feel stirring in the Maw to begin to make a move, and if her spies were right about the Whiphid that had appeared with the Skywalkers and Solos, they would play right into her hands.

She turned to General Wethen and Colonel Vessery.

"General, prepare the _Revenge _for immediate departure. We are returning to the Home. Colonel Vessery, I will have a flight of four Defenders to escort me. Have four of my guards join me on my shuttle as well. Not that I don't trust our 'allies' but..." she said.

"As you wish my lady." Wethen and Vessery said, bowing, and the two Royal Guardsmen that she had at the door of the bridge turned and headed towards the hangar.

Lumiya smiled.

"General, keep the fleet in orbit around Bimmiel and repair the _Invidious_. But...be wary, I may require assistance if Krayt brings a bigger ship than I think he should." She said.

"As you wish my lady." Wethen said, saluting.

Confident that her orders would be carried out, she turned and swept from the bridge, her cape billowing behind her. It was time to convince the others to agree to her plan. Nothing else would stop the return of the Sith to power, and the creation of a strong, stable, peaceful galaxy.

All that was transpiring was doing so according to her design.

XX

Deep within the Maw, a cluster of black holes near Kessel, three Republic era _Consular _class Cruisers were blockading a small planet, which had a small blue star nearby. It had a jungle terrain, and on it they could feel a ridiculously powerful dark side presence.

Quinlan Vos, a Jedi of the Old Republic, his long dreadlocked hair now flecked with grey, narrowed his eyes at the planet. On the planet was Abeloth, an extremely powerful dark side Force entity. And it was her that he and the others had come to stop.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Kina Ha, an elderly Kaminoan had been at Kessel when she had felt a dark tendril of need. Curious, she had gone into the Maw to investigate and had felt the dark power that was Abeloth. Returning to their enclave on Myrkr Kina Ha had informed them all of the presence of the dark side entity, and Ferus Olin and K'kruhk's former Padawan Jempa had gone to investigate. However when they had arrived on the planet after doing some research, they had found out that Abeloth was much more powerful than previously thought. She had attacked them, and had consumed Kina Ha and Ferus before they could even attack her. Jempa had fled, trying to escape. Abeloth however had caught him in her tendrils and had consumed him as well, but not before Jempa had managed to get a message out to the others to warn them of the great threat within the Maw.

Since then, they had been trying to find out as much as they could as possible as they could about Abeloth. For the last three years, the Survivors had been assembling information to try and find out about Abeloth. However, they were no closer to finding out what or who she truly was. All they had found out so far was that Centerpoint and Sinkhole Stations had formed a sort of wall around her planet, preventing her from extending her powers outside of the Maw. However, the Second Galactic Civil War had changed it, as Centerpoint had been destroyed, and her powers began to fluctuate and extend. And another group had been sent, comprised of several mercenaries and even Mandalorians. They too had been consumed, and the Survivors knew that there was no way to stop Abeloth. Her powers began to expand, and it was then that they knew that they were dealing with the end of the galaxy.

However, it was then that K'kruhk had happened upon the plan of changing the past. All of them had agreed that the last war had been a pointless disaster, and they had decided to go through with it, so that hopefully a joint force of Jedi and Sith could perhaps join together to defeat their ultimate foe. And now that K'kruhk had succeeded in changing the past with the help of Leia Organa Solo, their visions of the future now contained a little bit of hope, whereas there had been none before.

And now they were hoping for the best and trying to stop her to give the Skywalker and Solo the peace they deserved. And Quinlan was determined to give them it.

"Dad...I'm scared." A voice said from behind him.

Quinlan turned to look at his son Korto. Born at the rise of the Empire, he had been quietly trained as a Jedi, furthering the aims of the Survivors and helping out as a Jedi should. His hair was shorter than his fathers, with only a few dreadlocks on the top of his head. He had a son and a daughter of his own now, but despite that he had volunteered to join his father on this mission.

"I am too Korto. Abeloth...is something else. Alert Master Jennir and Master Piru...we're going in." He said.

A few minutes later the three cruisers descended onto Abeloth's planet to confront their nemesis.

XX

T'ra Saa grimaced. The earthquakes that were slowly destroying Kessel were getting worse by the day. And they had been even before the timeline change. Immediately after the timeline change the tremors had been even worse than before. The message she had received from Scout had told her that Centerpoint had apparently been destroyed over a year earlier, back at the start of the crisis that had escalated into the war, meaning Abeloth was out of her repulsor prison earlier than before, and hence was now even closer to destroying the planet. T'ra wouldn't mind so much, but she couldn't figure out why Abeloth was so determined to destroy the former penal colony. However, she was using the Force, anchoring herself to the planet to prevent Kessel's destruction. And her anchoring herself to Kessel had been what had saved her from the timeline change. Now she was using the Force to knock back the dark tendrils that were Abeloth's powers, but she couldn't go on indefinitely. She would personally rather abandon Kessel to its fate, but the problem was they didn't know what Abeloth wanted with it and why she wanted to destroy it. And so, T'ra had to remain here, fending off Abeloth.

But she couldn't keep doing that. At first, the tendrils she had been facing were relatively light, a sort of grey colour. However, now they were getting blacker and blacker as time progressed. Which couldn't bode well.

There was another particularly painful tremor, and T'ra nearly lost her balance from the spot she was anchored to. Cursing, she watched as several prisoner grave stones toppled into the new chasm that had opened up, and felt a familiar pang of regret.

Her dear companion and lover Tholme had died many years ago now, died to prevent Darth Vader finding out about the existence of Korto and T'ra and Quinlan's survival. He had been killed in a fight with the Dark Lord, though not before taking arm off Vader for his trouble. As such, T'ra and Quinlan had then seen to his burial on the planet Anzat, where T'ra had remained rooted for fifteen years, before K'kruhk had found her and had her join the Survivors.

And now she was here, trying to keep Kessel in one piece, while her adopted son in law, Quinlan, and his son Korto, both quite elderly by human standards, led a mission into the heart of the Maw with around eighteen other Jedi, all who had become part of the Survivors either by being original members, or members who had been born into the group, along with several mercenaries and other kind hearted souls that the Survivors had encountered over the years. And they were going after Abeloth, despite the fact that both she and K'kruhk disagreed with the decision. Suffice to say she had a bad feeling about it.

There was another tremor and T'ra got back to work.

XX

The next day dawned bright and sunny, and Leia had been delighted to have a full night's sleep again. Her family was back to normal. But now, they had to try and save the galaxy yet again. She was incredibly happy and bustled around, and even made Han a fry up for breakfast, which he was quite receptive of. He too was quite happy, despite the fact that he hadn't lived the other timeline, and so hadn't had to go through losing Mara and Jacen. And regardless of the fact that he was about to get roped into a new mission to save the galaxy, he was quite willing to join her in her good mood.

They headed on over to the Temple, leaving Threepio behind to tidy up and went through, Leia being ridiculously perky as she did so. They entered Jaina's room, and Leia cheerily opened the curtains, letting the sunlight stream onto her daughter's face, and she grumbled irritably.

"Mom...what the hell? I was asleep!" she moaned as she woke up with bleary eyes.

"And now you're awake." Leia said brightly.

Han smiled at his daughter as he came into her quarters.

"She's been perky all morning. Must be something to do with preventing your brother turning to the dark side and all that."

Jaina grumbled as she got herself out of bed.

"Remind me to have a word with Temple security about letting perky people inside." She moaned.

She returned half an hour later, fully clothed and looking remotely human once again.

"So why have you got me up so early?" she asked as they headed for the speeder.

"Well we need to go and see K'kruhk don't we?" Leia asked as Han drove the speeder off.

"What is this true threat he was going on about?" Jaina asked in concern as she got into the back.

"I don't really know...but I had a vision before the timeline changed. It wasn't pretty. Whatever the hell it is, it's strong enough to devastate the galaxy. But I don't see how changing the timeline will help that much. I mean, yeah, having Jacen and Mara back might be helpful, along with other Jedi that died during the war, but it seems to me that it still won't be enough to stop it." Leia said musingly.

They picked Luke and Mara up from outside their apartment and headed to pick Ben and Jacen up from Jacen's apartment.

"Yes, but you can't just change time and not face consequences sis. There has to be something you're overlooking." Luke reasoned as they entered Jacen's building.

"Well hopefully it means other good people who died will be alive again. Admiral Pellaeon, Isolder, Omas, Tresina Lobi, all of that..." Leia said as realisation dawned on her.

"Who killed poor old Pellaeon? He may be an Imp, but he's the only decent one they've ever had!" Han said incredulously.

He was then fixed by a glare from Mara, and he blushed sheepishly.

"Present company excepted of course." He said ruefully, and Jaina grinned.

"Tahiri did it on her own initiative because Pellaeon did the thing we didn't do...he tried to stop Jacen before it was too late." Leia said, her mind racing.

"Leia? What's wrong?" Luke asked in concern as they came out of the elevator on Jacen's floor.

"She's still alive!" Leia spat angrily.

Mara shrugged at Luke, who had looked at her in confusion.

"Who is?" Jaina asked.

"Lumiya was killed by Luke during the war! Because the war hasn't happened, she's still alive and is out there somewhere!" she snarled.

"Told you there'd be consequences." Luke said, but Leia smacked him with the back of her hand to shut him up.

"And if what you said last night is true, Alema Rar is probably still alive as well then." Jaina said, as Leia had explained a little bit more about her daughter's love triangle.

It hadn't made her feel any better for abandoning Jacen to the dark side, but at least she knew she had been doing _some _good. Even if it was directed at the wrong fallen Jedi.

"Well let's deal with this threat of K'kruhk's first, and then we can deal with Lumiya after we save the galaxy again." Mara said, and she and Leia's eyes met and they both nodded in grim determination.

Lumiya would not get her hands on any of the kids while they drew breath.

They received no answer when they rang the bell, so impatient, Han used one of Leia's credit cards to open the door, totally ignoring Leia's disapproving look.

"Aww, look." Jaina cooed in a delighted voice, cocking her head affectionately.

Jacen had slumped to the side of the sofa, his head resting on the armrest, and Ben was cuddled up around him, having fallen asleep hugging him. Leia and Mara tried hard to subdue coos of delight also as they saw their sleeping sons. Mara had a suspicion Ben had refused to leave Jacen because he was afraid his cousin would get upset, and she smiled proudly.

Han and Luke smiled, but then it turned to worried looks as they saw the mischievous glint in Jaina's eyes that normally signified the twins were up to no good.

"Jaina, that is very naughty." Luke scolded lightly.

"So is doing it to me." She retorted, and Force pushed the sofa.

Ben woke up first and hung on for dear life, but as the sofa hit the table he rolled off pulling Jacen with him, who gave a yelp as he fell from the seat. The two of them landed on the floor, and Jacen and Ben both scrambled to their feet, glaring at Jaina, who was laughing, and Luke and Han were also trying to stop a laugh from coming out.

"Oh, I am so going to go Caedus on your ass." Jacen grumbled as he rubbed his back in annoyance.

Ben grinned at him. That was more like the Jacen he knew and loved, making light of a bad situation.

"Ah, but you forget I killed Caedus." She said childishly, sticking her tongue out.

"Only because he was distracted actually." Leia pointed out, having not told anyone about Tenel Ka and Allana, and not wanting to until she talked to Jacen.

"Ahha! See, can't beat me in a fair fight, so you get me when my back is turned." Jacen said, scowling, but with a grin on his face as he did so.

"Says you. You have to have cheated to kill me." Mara said with a wink.

Jacen's eyes went down a bit in sadness, but he was still smiling. Maybe he could only joke about a little at a time so soon after finding out what had happened. Ben went towards him, and then Jacen grinned broadly.

"Ha, sucker. Hot water!" he cried triumphantly and dashed for the bathroom.

"Hey, no fair! Playing the sympathy card is my trick. Jerk." he said mock irritably, while the others laughed.

But Ben couldn't shake the feeling that Jacen was still upset.

An hour later Ben and Jacen were ready and they headed to K'kruhk's office. Jaina and Jacen seemed to be having one of their mental conversations, that none of the others could figure out. Han was driving, and was getting incredibly frustrated as Leia told him pointless things like 'stop at the red light dear' and 'mind the pedestrian'.

"_Are you ok_?" Jaina asked in concern over their bond.

And, as she so often did nowadays, she was incredibly glad that she had re-established their bond and had stopped pulling out of it, because while Jacen did seem a little happier than he had been yesterday, which wouldn't be hard, and was covering it well, he was still an emotional train wreck.

Jacen looked at her sadly, the emotions he tried to hide from Ben coming through. Jaina had never really understood why the two were so close, but she was glad of it at the moment. Because Ben could get places with Jacen that even she couldn't. He was closer to Jacen than anyone, and while odd, the family accepted it, and it gave them both another positive thing in their lives.

"_What do you think? We find mom and she tells us she had to go and change time because I became an evil Sith Lord that took over the galaxy, killed aunt Mara, tortured Ben, murdered loads more innocent people, and had to be killed by you! How can I be ok?_" he demanded, with tears blossoming in his eyes and she could even hear them in their bond.

She was glad Ben, Luke and Mara were in the middle seats, because it meant she and Jacen could talk privately, and not be disturbed by Ben turning around, because at the moment he was having a spirited argument with his mother and father about the chances of the Kashyyyk Wanderers getting through to the semi finals of the hockey league.

"_That wasn't you..._" she said soothingly.

Jacen looked at her grouchily.

"_Yes it was. It was just me in another timeline. I became a cold, merciless monster, just like our dear grandfather. I heard mom and uncle Luke talking earlier. Killing aunt Mara wasn't all I did. I murdered innocent civilians, I turned poor Tahiri to the dark side, I killed Isolder, I even kidnapped...Allana..._" he said, choking up when he added kidnapping Tenel Ka's daughter to Caedus' list of crimes.

"_Jacen..._" she said, trying to calm him, and she was profoundly glad that Jacen had clammed down on his Force presence so that the others wouldn't be able to sense how upset he was.

Jacen turned despairingly to her.

"_What if I do it again? Become that same monster all over again, hurt you all, maybe kill you...what if I turn like Vader and kill the people I love most, like you, Ben...?_" he said, and she knew he was struggling not to just break down on her.

He had always been scared of the spectre of their grandfather, and being told that he had actually turned into the same sort of thing was chewing him up, and the news of his horrendous acts was making it all the worse.

And Jaina knew that the fact that his family hadn't even tried to save him from being a Sith was also hurting him deeply too, but she would have to take it one step at a time. Truth be told, they had all been hurt by K'kruhk's rant, her in particular. Yes he had apparently decided to be a Sith, but so had Vader, and their uncle had saved him. Kyp had murdered millions during his fall by destroying Carida with the Sun Crusher, and their father had saved him. But no one had even tried with Jacen, and she knew that had ripped a deep wound on his heart, nearly as deep as the news that he had turned to the dark side and had become a Sith in the first place, a Sith who had done terrible things, including to his own family.

Jaina forced down her own tears, as she was ashamed of herself, and was also feeling bad for Jacen as well as getting his own emotional backlash through their bond. She sat close to him and cuddled into him, and he did the same to her, his tears running down her neck while hers did the same to him.

"_You won't do it again._" She vowed fiercely, and he looked at her with sad brown eyes.

"_How not? Will you kill me again?_" he asked.

Jaina winced, thinking he was saying it to hurt her. But then she felt him through their bond and saw that he meant it. If he turned again, he wanted her to kill him before he truly hurt anyone he loved, and he was asking her because he knew she was the only one who might be strong enough to kill him, not physically, but emotionally. He knew it would hurt her terribly too, but he knew she was the only one who might be capable of surviving it. She looked at him, and saw the terrible pain and hurt in his eyes and it nearly made her own heart break.

"_No I won't._" She said tearfully, and he looked away from her, scared and hurt, scared that he would fall again and hurt people.

"_Because if you fall, we won't just sit back and let you become so bad. We'll save you. Anyway, you're not going to fall now. Mom changed the timeline and it seems like some of the reasons you had for falling in the other one have been fixed...like us._" She promised, and a little bit of hope came back into his eyes as she lifted his wet cheek to look her directly in the eyes.

"_You'll try and save me though, even if I do go dark?_" he asked nervously, and she could feel him calming down.

"_Yes. If you go dark, we'll only kill you if we really have no other choice...if then._" She said, and it seemed to satisfy him and he hugged her fiercely.

"_I love you Jaya_." He said, snuggling into her and using her childhood nickname.

"_I love you too Jasa._" She responded, and kissed his forehead gently.

"Park here dear." Leia said cheerily as Han glided the speeder in looking at her irritably.

"It must just be a thing about women sitting in the front of the car, they become a pain in the ass. She does it as well." Luke grumbled as they clambered out, earning him a surprised look from Mara.

Jacen and Jaina had used the Force to cover up the signs that they had been crying, but Ben sent Jacen a searching look that made both of them sure that their cousin knew full well that they had been crying. Jacen smiled weakly at him and winked, and while Ben still looked a little concerned, he followed the others into the office.

"Morning Scout." Leia said, and Scout looked up and smiled at them as they entered.

"Hello you lot. Oh it is good to see the family back together. You did very well, and the plan worked perfectly, everyone remembered everything. Go on through, the tea's made." She said with a smile, and it looked as though she was packing up.

Leia supposed that now everything had changed she didn't have to hang around any longer. They entered the office to see two sofas and an extra chair in front of K'kruhk's desk.

"Good morning all. Ah, young Jacen, you look a lot happier than you did last time I must say. Please." He said, indicating for them to sit down.

They did so and Leia poured the tea.

"Well, I am glad that your family has been restored my dear. You look a lot happier than you did before we did all this." K'kruhk said to Leia happily.

"Yes, I feel a lot happier..." she said, looking at Jacen, her eyes narrowed in concern as she saw that her son was looking out of the window sadly.

She knew it was going to take him some time to adjust to the news. Being told that he was a Sith Lord who had killed so many people and had hurt the ones he loved was bad enough. But being told that his own family had just sat back and let it happen was going to make it even worse. And she could see the pain that was in his eyes every time he looked at them, but whether that was because he was being tortured by the fact that he, as Darth Caedus, had hurt them, or because they had let it happen she didn't know. When Jacen had been in the shower, Ben had told them that he had still been crying when they had come home, and he had been squirming around like he had a dream and moaning when they had been asleep, and her heart was panging for her son. But he would get over it, she knew he would. As they had said he had gotten stronger during the Vong War, and he could deal with this. But this time he wouldn't deal with things alone, they'd be there with him. This time they would get it right.

"So what is this big boogie boogie threat that's got your blood pressure up?" Han asked as he had his tea.

K'kruhk looked at them all gravely.

"Deep within the Maw there is a very powerful, ancient evil that is stirring. It has already consumed several of those sent to stop it, including my own apprentice Jempa. It is hunger, need and evil itself given form, and it radiates the dark side. Make no mistake, the galaxy has not faced a threat like this before. And that is one of the main reasons I had for changing time. Now when we peer into the future we see a little bit of hope." K'kruhk said.

Luke looked at him sceptically.

"You reckon this thing is a sort of dark side nexus?" he asked.

K'kruhk nodded.

"Yes. We know it is a dark side nexus. It is more powerful than any Sith, and when you consider Palpatine that is saying something. It is that threat that we now face." He said sadly.

"But how come we haven't sensed it considering how powerful it is?" Jaina asked in confusion.

"Because up until recently, the thing we face was being suppressed by the powers of Centerpoint Station. However, when that was destroyed, its sister station, Sinkhole, couldn't perform enough to power to prevent the true threat from beginning to escape its confines and begin to gather strength. And now its power is nearly fully gathered, enough to perhaps allow it to leave its prison and unleash devastation upon the galaxy." He explained.

Mara frowned.

"I don't like the sound of this. An ancient dark side presence that Palpatine didn't know about? Whatever that is, it can't be good if even he didn't want anything to do with it." She said worriedly, her eyes creased with worry.

"I had a vision before we changed time. It wasn't pretty. If we have any chance of stopping this thing, we need to take it before it destroys us all." Leia said gravely.

Han looked at how worried the others were and sighed. Looked like they were getting roped into saving the galaxy again.

"Alright, how do we go about getting rid of this thing?" he asked.

K'kruhk stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"We don't actually know. All we do know is that it is extremely powerful, and while conventional weapons can harm it, they have as yet been unable to kill it." He said musingly.

"Well that's helpful. So we don't even have the first clue of how to go about killing this damned thing?" Ben demanded, looking in concern at his parents who also looked worried about what they were being asked to do.

"The Force I expect." Jacen said quietly, and K'kruhk nodded at him, conceding the point.

"Yes, we believe that a powerful use of the Force should be enough to destroy this threat. However, as it stands, even all of the considerable powers present are not enough to destroy this threat. You can use the light side, and while it is a dark side entity, I do not believe that a light side entity will be enough on its own. As such, we think we also need a dark side presence if we are to destroy this thing."

They looked at him curiously, and suddenly Leia's eyes flashed as she realised what her friend was hinting at.

"Wait a minute...Lumiya is alive again in this timeline. You want us to join forces with her don't you?" she demanded furiously, balling her fists angrily.

Jacen looked at her in alarm, while K'kruhk nodded his head dolefully.

"I know you don't like the idea Leia. I'm not overly keen on it myself. But, as far as we know, there isn't another strong dark side presence out there powerful enough to be able to help us stop this threat. Being the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, Lumiya is I'm afraid our only choice." He said.

Luke looked at K'kruhk, aghast. He could feel the Whiphid's reluctance and distaste for having to suggest it in the first place through the Force, but that didn't make it any better.

Firstly, Lumiya was a Sith, who would betray them the first opportunity she got. Secondly, as this threat, which considering the fear he could feel from both K'kruhk and Leia had to be real, was a dark side entity, how could they trust Lumiya not to join forces with it? Thirdly, having one of his ex girlfriends around was surely just going to exasperate Mara no end. And fourthly, Luke didn't want Ben anywhere near a Sith of any sort considering the family's history.

"No." A scared voice said defiantly, and they all turned to see Jacen his arms crossed glowering at K'kruhk, though managing to look petrified at the same time.

Luke then mentally kicked himself. He hadn't even thought of what having Lumiya present would do to Jacen since Leia had dropped her bombshell that Lumiya was the one who had turned him in the first place. Yes, they hadn't been as close recently, but he knew and loved Jacen, and knew that the idea of them having to travel with the Sith who had made him do so many terrible things would eat him alive.

"Jacen..." Ben said kindly, reaching up to pat his cousin's elbow, but Jacen moved backwards, as if frightened of K'kruhk, glowering at him still.

"We can't have her on board. There's no telling what she might do." He said in a panicky voice.

K'kruhk opened his mouth to speak, and Luke sighed. He knew the old Jedi was right. If they were to defeat this threat that had both him and Leia so scared, they would need all the help they could get. And that would mean they needed Lumiya. Unfortunately.

Luke got up and touched Jacen's forearm and fixed his nephew with a caring blue gaze.

"She won't get to you ok? I promise. She won't get her claws into you, into any of you. And then as soon as we've dealt with this threat, we'll stick her into the Maw where she can't hurt anyone else. Ok?" He asked, and while Jacen still looked terrified of having to travel with a Sith, he nodded slowly.

"I know Jacen. It doesn't sit well with me either. But truth be told there have been far worse Sith to ally with. Palpatine would turn on us in a heartbeat." K'kruhk reminded, and Jacen conceded the point.

"What happens if she's not following the Rule of Two though?" Mara asked, her eyes casting a concerned look at Jacen, who still looked as though he would scream at any moment.

"Well, in case she doesn't have an apprentice to hand, we can only look for the only other powerful dark side presence there is...Alema Rar."

Jaina looked thoughtful. While she was no happier about having Lumiya on board the ship than anyone else was, Jacen in particular, Alema they could at least figure out how to deal with. She was totally insane, a result of too many losses and too many mutilations in a far too short space of time. Jaina mused for a minute that no one had done much to save her from the dark side either.

Coming back to reality, she knew an easy way they could get to Alema. Her long term boyfriend Jagged Fel, who she had reunited with after the destruction of Centerpoint and after Zekk had finally gotten over her by falling for one of Tenel Ka's cousins, Taryn Zel, had been pursuing Alema for months. Jacen's actions at Supply Depot Thrago had made the Chiss strip Jag of all his positions, powers and holdings, and he was exiled, leaving him honourless. The only way he could regain his lost honour would be to kill Alema/ Jag had asked Luke to petition the Jedi Order to have them leave Alema alone and not hunt her down. They had been incredibly reluctant, fearing what Alema could do to the Jedi Order, but Jag's dogged pursuit of her had kept her busy, so they had allowed it.

"That shouldn't be too hard. I can just...ask Jag." She said, feeling a pang of regret, and Jacen was interrupted from looking sad and fearful and looked at her in the brotherly concern that she was still immensely glad that she had gotten back.

"Very well. I know this isn't ideal, but it may be the only way in which we can save the galaxy. May the Force be with us all." K'kruhk said, and they all got up, and began to exit.

"Threepio, prepare the ship. Here we go again." Han ordered over the comm.

"As you wish Captain Solo. The _Falcon_?" he asked, and Han gave an affirmative.

"I'm quite looking forward to a ride on the _Millennium Falcon_. It's very famous." K'kruhk said conversationally to Mara.

"You mean it's a hunk of junk. We could take the _Jade Shadow _but we'll probably need heavier firepower on this mission and sadly, the _Falcon _is better armed, and if we all need to be in the same place to keep an eye on Lumiya and Alema, the _Falcon _is better, we can just fake some damage and space the evil bitches." She said perkily, to which K'kruhk chuckled.

"It'll be alright." Ben said to Jacen, and Jacen grinned.

"Yeah. I think you're right." He said, smiling a little.

"See, that's the Jacen I know and love. What makes you say that?" Ben asked curiously.

"Just a feeling. And besides...I've got my young apprentice to look after me." Jacen said with a grin and mussed Ben's hair.

"Jacen...the _hair_!" he grumbled, and Jacen and the others laughed.

XX

The _Falcon _was warming up as they all bustled around. K'kruhk had said his goodbyes to Scout, and she was going back to their Enclave to see to the others. Ben and Jaina had filled the stores with food, while Leia had bought all the medical supplies and bedding that they would need. Initially confused by the large number, as the ship only had six bunks, Han revealed to her that after the insurrection he, Jacen and Jaina had renovated the number three cargo hold so that if the entire family went away somewhere on holiday, a feat they were still to achieve, all of them could travel in just the one ship, as now there was now seven extra bunks, giving them a total capacity of fourteen. Luke and Mara had got the clothes and necessities for everyone, and they had stocked up on replacement parts for lightsabers and cybernetic hands in case Lumiya wasn't friendly when they found her.

The ship was ready to go, and despite the fact that the entire fate of the galaxy, and the Force hung in the balance, Han was quite excited. It had been a while since the old girl had had a run, and the fact that the entire family was going made it all the better. It wasn't a holiday, but they were all together. And K'kruhk seemed a decent enough guy, and as he had helped Leia save the family, and that made him alright in Han's book.

However, there was a little bit of tension. Han was incredibly worried about Jacen as he looked like he was going to have a breakdown at times, no matter how well he hid it, because what Leia and K'kruhk had told them had shaken him to his core. The rest of them were disgusted with the fact that they had just condemned him to death as well. Actually, the one who seemed to be taking it the best was Mara, who teased Jacen and said he had to have cheated every time her death was brought up.

Along with that, trapping Luke and Jacen together for days at a time had a whiff of trouble about it. Luke and Jacen did get on, and they did love each other...but when it came to Ben, things changed. Luke didn't fully trust Jacen to teach Ben properly, and no matter how well he hid it, Jacen was hurt by that frequently, because as far as Han knew he had only ever done right by Ben. It was also clear that Jacen loved the kid to bits, just like his parents did, and only wanted what was best for him, but Luke still had some reason for not trusting Jacen. And now that they had heard that Jacen had apparently turned to the dark side in the other timeline, it would probably just make a full fledged argument all the more likely, and Han sighed as he knew who that would affect most...it would just upset all three of them, but Ben would be hurt the most.

Also, Jaina seemed to be hurting about something, which both he and Jacen had picked up on in K'kruhk's office. Whatever it was, she wasn't telling yet.

And Mara was also being slightly snarky, and he had to suppress a grin as he thought of why. She didn't like the idea of Lumiya coming aboard for many reasons, but one was the fact that she used to be Luke's ex, and it was infuriating her no end.

And also Leia seemed very worried, and they hadn't even found Lumiya yet. He agreed that he didn't want Lumiya getting her claws into his son, daughter or nephew, and he would fight like hell to prevent that, but he didn't see the point in worrying until the old bat was actually on board. And the coming presence of Alema seemed to be quite annoying to Leia as well, and he could well understand why. Alema hated Leia and according to the messages they received from Jag, relayed to them by Jaina, it seemed like she wanted to hurt him and the rest of her family to apparently bring some type of balance back for Leia maiming her on different occasions.

And he could also see that Leia was desperately trying to keep quiet about something, and he knew it had to do with Jacen. Whatever it was, he hoped she would let him get over her last shock to him first before she dropped the next one on him.

K'kruhk came into the cockpit and sat down cheerfully beside him. Han grinned to himself. The fate of the galaxy at stake, and it still didn't seem to get this guy down. It would be nice to have an optimist in the crew again, since the kids had lost much of their optimism with the Vong War, leaving only Ben to carry on the naive optimism front.

"A fine ship. Let us hope it can stay together for all this." He commented, and Han shot him a dirty look.

"There is nothing wrong with this ship, it's in perfect running order." He said petulantly.

There was then a clunk from further back, followed by a pained cry and Han winced.

"Uncle Han, one of the ceiling panels has just fallen off and landed on Threepio!" Ben called in amusement.

"I do not think this is remotely funny Master Ben! That was quite painful! Please help me up!" Threepio wailed, while Artoo beeped in laughter.

Han looked at K'kruhk sheepishly.

"Well, almost perfect running order." He corrected, and their new companion chuckled.

Luke then entered, eager to get going.

"Alright, so where do we find good old Lumiya?" he asked, settling down behind Han.

"Bimmiel, or there abouts anyway." K'kruhk said.

"No, Hapes." Jacen said entering the cockpit.

"Eh? No my boy, she's near Bimmiel." K'kruhk said certainly.

"Yes but we need to go to Hapes first." Jacen said to his father, who shrugged at Luke only to receive a confused look in return.

"Time is of the essence lad. We must go to Bimmiel." K'kruhk argued, and Jacen had a slight grin on his face.

"Hapes." He retorted.

"Bimmiel!"

"Hapes!"

"Bimmiel!"

"Hapes!"

"Bimmiel!"

Jacen winked at Han and Luke.

"Bimmiel!"

"Hapes! Captain Solo, I must insist you set course for Hapes at once!" K'kruhk said triumphantly.

"Ok, Hapes it is." Han said flashing his son a crooked grin.

K'kruhk smiled in smug satisfaction until he thought about what he had said. His expression soured and he turned slowly to face Jacen who was smiling innocently.

"Alright smart alec. How did you manage to outsmart me?"

Jacen grinned as he sat in Threepio's customary seat.

"I had two siblings growing up. You don't get through that without picking up a few things." He said with a grin.

"Smart arse former Sith Lord Jedi swine." K'kruhk grumbled, and with that, the _Millennium Falcon_ roared into the air, bound for Hapes.

XX

Chase Piru frowned as her _Consular _class cruiser descended through the clouds, headed for a volcano in the distance where they could sense a great dark side power awaiting them. She frowned in concern. This was not a good idea in her opinion. She thought that Abeloth only might be destroyed by a joint force of all Jedi and Sith in the galaxy. But the Survivor Council had decided in favour of this mission, to be led by Master Vos to try and destroy Abeloth.

Seddwia, her former Twi'lek apprentice, frowned.

"You're scared aren't you?" she asked as Kennan Taanzer, another former Soaring Hawkbat Clan member, took the ship further down, heading for the volcano.

Piru smiled slightly. Most of the Jedi on this ship were made up of the clan she had cared for during the Dark Times, the Soaring Hawkbat Clan, occasionally helped by Master K'kruhk. Kennan, her own Padawan Seddwia, the Zabrak Jiro, the Mon Calamari learner named Dacquel, and Mezzi Burs, the Gossam student, all made up their crew. Along with them there were several former pirates and smugglers, along with a few healers and two Mandalorians, and even one Yuuzhan Vong warrior. Most of them were middle aged, but that didn't make them any less powerful. Piru was in her mid eighties now, but still felt as young and strong as she had been during the Dark Times.

"Yes Seddwia, I am scared. Abeloth is a threat unlike any we have ever faced." Piru warned gravely as the ship rocked a bit.

"What was that honey?" Jiro asked Kennan, who was frowning.

"I don't know, it's like we hit turbulence..." Kennan said, but his musings were suddenly cut off as the ship plummeted to the earth, the crew screaming as it did so.

The ship slammed to the ground, ripping up tons of mud and throwing them around and off of their seats as the ship came to a stop.

"What the hell just happened?" Seddwia demanded as she helped Piru to her feet.

"I don't know, it's like we just lost repulsors, but it says here that they're still active..." Kennan said worriedly as everyone got up, nursing bruises and broken bones.

"What if it was Abeloth?" Dacquel asked worriedly, igniting his blue lightsaber.

"Then she is far more deadly a threat than we realised." Piru said and led her team out of the ship, her own green lightsaber glowing.

They looked around. It was clear that their ship wasn't going anywhere again, and Piru didn't know what had happened to Master Jennir and Master Vos' ships, or if they were still alive. Looking around, she had her first true glimpse of the bizarre world that Abeloth inhabited. Strange ferny plants emitted peculiar clicking sounds, and close to, Piru could see that they were covered in thorns. The planet was a mirage of colour, and all the plant life was different, just like Felucia. However...this looked like some sort of Vong influenced version of Felucia, with evil looking spikes growing from the plants and strange noises all around them.

"Kennan, try to contact Master Vos. Come, we must make our way to the volcano. There perhaps we shall find Abeloth." Piru said, heading off.

They proceeded in silence through the strange evil looking jungle, with only the sound of whatever the noises were and Kennan's frequent curses breaking the quiet. Mezzi was focusing on one of the smugglers that stayed with them at the enclave, a Lannik male, who was looking around nervously.

"Got to get out of here, get away from these copies...stop the copies!" he cried and opened fire on his co-pilot, a Rodian.

The Rodian was dead before he hit the floor, and everyone was looking on in shock aside from Mezzi.

"Stop this madness!" she barked, Force pushing him.

However, the plants had been awoken by the smell of the Rodian's blood and a large spiky stalk came down and crushed through the Lannik, while a jagged root reached up from the earth and pulled the Rodian's body beneath the ground.

"By the Force..." Piru said as things quietened down.

Shaken by the unexpected burst of madness they continued on until they reached a red river. Piru couldn't suppress her fear as she looked at it. There was something _wrong_ with this world, and a red river could only mean trouble. So hesitantly she tested the water.

"Anything Jeedai?" the Vong warrior asked in confusion as he, the two Mandos and the remaining smugglers, a Sullustan, a Barabel and two humans hovered around nervously.

"It seems fine. You two, rocket over to the other side. It may seem safe but I don't want to put anyone at risk. We will leap over and levitate the rest of you across." She said.

The two Mandos used their jetpacks and fired up into the air. However, it was the last action one of theme ver committed. A plant like a fly trap suddenly sprang up from nowhere and devoured him in a single gulp, leaving the sounds of his scream behind. The other Mando fired at it as he landed, but then Piru saw his mistake. He had gone over alone.

"Get over there now!" she said, and he gave an insane scream and opened fire with his heavy repeating blaster.

Piru and Kennan blocked the shots while the others took cover. Jiro looked at him, sadly and reluctantly and leapt across the water, and brought her blade slicing through his neck, sending his helmet twirling away into the bushes. She then quickly shoved the body into the red river before the plants made a move.

"What the hell is this place?" the Sullustan asked.

"Terrible." Kennan responded grimly and went to join his wife.

The Jedi over, they levitated the others across. However, Piru then heard a noise and she turned to cleave a long, thin bodied badger like creature in two just as she was starting to levitate the human female. Piru turned in alarm as the girl stumbled and fell into the river, and she reappeared, thrashing.

"Help, it's got me!" she screamed and a whirlpool opened up, and two seconds later she had been sucked down and out of sight.

They all stood in frightened silence. Something was attacking them, mentally and physically. And it scared the hell out of Piru. Then, she heard it, a voice terrible and sweet at the same time, both needy and loving, wonderful and also somehow terrible...

"_You must come to me, it is the only way to escape this world_." It whispered softly.

"Master, did you hear that?" Dacquel asked, shivering.

"Yes. Come, we must proceed. Kennan, have you had any luck with Master Vos?" she asked as they headed on, their hearts heavy.

"No, it's like we're being jammed. Wait, is that...it can't be..." Kennan whispered in surprise.

Piru followed his line of sight and saw her old master, Du Mahn, standing before her. Mahn had been killed during the execution of Order 66, so how did she come to be here?

"Master?" Piru croaked.

"My dear Piru...you have come at last. And now...you die!" she roared, and several plants shattered the illusion of Master Mahn, their spiky vines bursting through her like wind through trees, and the vines impaled the Barabel and lifted the body up, giving it some sort of horrible reanimation. The Sullustan screamed and ran away, while Mezzi cut up the body and the vines.

"No wait stop, come back!" she cried, but it was too late as some large rat like creature snuck out of the plants and leapt, taking the Sullustan's head off in one bite. Before it could enjoy its victory however a large tree used its roots and brought them both underground.

"Oh..." Jiro said, holding onto her husband for support.

They had lost more than half their party and it was only going to get worse. Piru knew that this world would become their grave. It was just a matter of when.

They proceeded on, finally reaching the dark side volcano cave.

"Must we go in there Jeedai?" the Vong asked.

"I'm afraid we must." Dacquel said gravely, and they headed on forward.

But as they headed on up to the cave, the remaining human started shaking.

"No, we can't, it's there!" he cried, his eyes wide with terror.

"What is?" Kennan asked urgently.

"It is there!" he cried, and the Jedi leapt back as a dark shadowy slithering smoky tentacle extended from inside the cave and forced itself into his mouth.

They could only look on in horror as his body convulsed, his eyes rolling back in his head and blood streaming from both nostrils and from his eyes. The tentacle seemed to becoming less smoky and more solid as it attacked the man, and then, without warning his body gave one last convulsion and disintegrated before their very eyes, his clothes falling to the ground while what remained of his body settled as dust on top of it.

"What was that thing?" Seddwia demanded in disgust as she looked at what had been a man only seconds before.

"If I was to wager a bet my apprentice, I'd say it was Abeloth." Piru said grimly and motioned for the Jedi to continue, the Vong a few steps behind.

"You came all this way...just to die. Turn back!" a voice said from behind them, and Piru turned in alarm as Master Mahn returned.

Piru growled. Abeloth had to be enjoying this. Well she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. Giving a war cry she attacked, her blade cleaving through Mahn's body with a betrayed scream. And then, the illusion cleared and Piru saw what she had wrought.

The Vong warrior lay dead, his eyes wide and shocked.

"I...I..." Piru gasped weakly.

"Ventress!" Kennan spat in hatred.

Piru realised what was going on. Abeloth was playing with their minds, and allowing them to form their own conclusions. Kennan had lit his blade and he swung it, to what he saw as a defenceless Asajj Ventress, the dark apprentice of Count Dooku who had disappeared during the Clone Wars, but was actually Jiro.

On the narrow mountain path, there was no escape.

"Kennan, no!" Piru screamed as his blade sliced his wife in half.

Kennan then broke out of the illusion, and gave a scream of dread. He had just killed his own wife. Abeloth had wrought this, and for the first time, Piru heard a terrible dark throaty laugh from inside the cave.

"Kennan, you did not know..." Mezzi said soothingly.

"JIRO!" he cried in despair, holding her lightsaber in his hand.

"Kennan..." Dacquel whispered, but no one could have guessed what was to come, and he ignited his wife's blade through his own head, and his dead body dropped down on top of hers.

"Not another one! She's going down!" Mezzi screamed and dashed up the hill into the cave.

"Mezzi, no!" Piru yelled and she, Seddwia and Dacquel rushed in after the Gossam.

They entered and finally saw their true enemy. Abeloth was hideous. She was short and squat, and her large lipped mouth spread from ear to ear. She had hair that was a dirty yellow colour. Her eyes were bright little pinpricks of silver inside sunken sockets, making them look like red stars far away. Her arms were incredibly short and stubby, but she had massive, long, writhing tentacles that were slowly becoming more solid in appearance rather than the smoky shadow state they had now.

"_At last...you come. Do not fear. You will all become part of me and live forever...we will be happy._" She promised, her voice caressing their emotions.

However, Piru was not in the mood to fall for it.

"Begone demon. We will not fall for such tricks." She vowed, and Seddwia, Dacquel and Mezzi came back to themselves.

"_But we can be happy..._" she said with a purr, and Piru felt her intense need through the Force.

"No, we are Jedi. We will not be swayed." Piru said and she and her companions brandished their sabers.

Abeloth then gave her throaty laugh.

"_Then...you die_!"

And then a dark tentacle extended like a viper from her body and stabbed through Mezzi. The Gossam gave a gasp and her saber fell to the floor from her limp hand. There was then a purple light and she was consumed in seconds, leaving behind only dust.

Dacquel and Seddwia gave enraged cries and leapt at Abeloth, but their foe opened her mouth and purple beams of energy streamed out, connecting with both their chests. Piru screamed as she could feel the Force streaming from them, and they screamed in unison, before her dark tentacles dropped their bodies, and when Piru sensed them all she could feel was a Force empty bubble, like they had become ysalamiri. They were clearly dead.

"You will not succeed." Piru said, readying her saber.

Abeloth cackled insanely.

"_Of course I will. Nothing will stop me. The Jedi, the Sith, the Force and the galaxy will be mine_!" she vowed, and Piru gave a war cry and sprang at her, her saber coming to decapitate the monster.

But then she was caught in Abeloth's long tentacles, which held her firm. Abeloth laughed softly, and then brought Piru close, and when her mouth opened, Piru only saw infinite darkness. And then, the tentacles began absorbing Piru, and she knew that this thing was the end of all things.

And with that last terrible thought, Chase Piru burst into dust.

XX

The _Falcon_ was making good time, and Jacen was looking musingly out of the viewport as the ship travelled through hyperspace. Before he had left, he had called Tenel Ka and asked if it was time for them all to know about Allana's true identity. There were several reasons for this. One, was that after what she had done, he felt his mother deserved something nice, even though he had a suspicion she and K'kruhk already knew the identity of Allana's true father. Two, was the fact that Jacen, after hearing the news that he had been an evil Sith Lord who had been killed by his own sister, wanted to spend more time with Tenel Ka and Allana and make the most of whatever time he could get with them. Also, by that same token, he was fed up of having to keep her true identity a secret, and he just wanted to be able to tell them that he was going to Hapes to see the woman he loved and his daughter. And lastly, because of how scared his mother and K'kruhk were about this threat, he felt that if things went badly and they died, or...he turned again...they deserved to know about Allana first.

The news that he had turned was still torturing him. Worse, he didn't know all of it. His mom had been very tight lipped about all his heinous acts as Darth Caedus, and K'kruhk was too busy playing dejarik with Artoo to say anything. The fact that he had turned into a Sith terrified and repulsed him. In hindsight, back then he hadn't been far off falling to the dark side, he admitted that quite readily. But to become a Sith who would such awful things...it hurt. It hurt more than the knowledge that his family hadn't even tried to save him. And considering what he had done, he supposed he had deserved to be left to die. But that didn't make it any easier knowing he'd had it coming to him.

Jacen hit the console in front of him in anger and disgust, not at them, but at himself. How could he have let himself become something as evil as a Sith Lord? What other evil things had he done to good innocent people, and worst of all to his family?

He fought down tears and rapidly closed off his bond with Jaina. She would feel it, and she was upset enough about something or other. And he wanted to help her. But he knew full well that if he wanted to help her, he had first had to deal with himself. And to do that, he needed to talk to all his family.

But before that he needed to know exactly what he had done as Darth Caedus. As such, wiping the tears from his eyes, he headed off to find his mother.

XX

Leia swore as the lethal washing machine that Han refused to get replaced snapped shut, nearly trapping her fingers.

"I'll get you playtime." She growled at it irritably and she set the thing to spin the clothes that she had brought with them as dirty washing so as to be able to wear them later on.

"Mom..." a small voice said and Leia leapt in fright, and heard a rueful giggle as she turned to see her son.

"Jacen, it isn't nice to sneak up on your mother, especially when she is so close to the jaws of that damned machine." She scolded lightly, then saw his eyes were slightly red.

She looked sadly at her son. She didn't regret her decision for a second. It was selfish she knew that, but it had given her a restored family, no dead best friend and no dead son. Which suited her. But her heart still ached for her little boy. Yes he was a grown man, but he was more like the Jacen he had been, more open, more trusting, more emotional, sweeter than he had been before his fall, less reserved. He was still her little boy...and he was terribly hurt and was an emotional wreck from the news she had given them all. She could see it in his eyes, like it was a constant struggle not to burst into tears or rage at everything around him. And that was the boy she had changed time to get back.

And now she had him back, she had to make sure she kept him.

"Sorry. Mom...I need to know." He said bravely, though he looked very uncertain.

Leia looked at him pityingly.

"Jacen, no you don't, I've told you all the stuff..."

Jacen shook his head adamantly, cutting her off.

"No mom. I need to know every evil thing I did, from start to finish, so that I don't do anything like it ever again. I need to know mom." He said firmly, and Leia knew that despite how much he knew it would hurt him, he was determined to go through with this.

Leia looked at him sadly, and shook her head.

"Mom, if you don't tell me, I'll just ask K'kruhk...but I'd rather hear it from my own mom rather than some weird Whiphid you picked up off the street, and he's annoyed at me because I got us to go to Hapes. He probably won't pull his punches, I heard everything he said to you lot. I don't want him doing that to me. So can you tell me please?" he asked nervously, but looking stubborn and she knew he wasn't going to back down.

Leia sighed. She didn't want to cause further hurt to her son, but she knew that eventually Luke and Han would want more than just the bare bones of what he had done, and she didn't want him to hear it when he wasn't supposed to do. And if he began to get over the most recent bit, dropping more bad news on him a bit at a time would only make things worse for him and may in fact mean that he would never truly get over what he had done in the alternate timeline.

"Alright. I'll tell you everything." She said, though she knew it would break her heart.

"Thanks. Everything?" he checked, and she nodded, a little bit hesitantly.

If it could be avoided, she didn't want to tell him what he had done with Tahiri, because it would probably devastate him. If not make him sick. After all, she had been the love of his little brother's life. But...

"Everything?" he asked forcefully, and she nodded sadly.

"Alright, come on." She said.

They sat on her and Han's bed in the crew quarters. To compensate for the fact that they would probably be travelling with Luke and Mara, if they ever managed to get away, Han had taken out the two tiered bunks, and had created two double beds, with only one bunk bed left, where K'kruhk was sleeping at the moment, while Luke, Mara, she and Han stayed in the doubles and the kids were in the other room. What they would do when they got Lumiya on board she didn't quite know. If she could manage it they would stick her in the freezer at night.

"Alright. I'm warning you this is a scary story." She said with a small sad smile, as she reminded herself of how he and Jaina had used to prefer her stories to Han's, aside from 'Little Lost Bantha Cub', while Anakin had preferred his fathers, including the rather odd one about the true evil behind the Galactic Civil War having been the Emperor's Foot.

"Ok. As bad as 'The Little Lost Bantha Cub'?" Jacen asked, smiling ruefully, reminding himself of their favourite book from childhood.

"Oh, a whole lot worse. Think of your dad's zombie story but worse." She said, and Jacen acted out a shiver.

Mind you come to think of it, he had always been the one who was most scared of Han's story about the zombies that had populated the Imperial Prison Barge _Purge _and the Star Destroyer _Vector_.

"Ok. But with any luck, this story might actually turn out to be a happily ever after story." Jacen said with a small smile as he made himself comfy.

"With any luck sweetie." She said and she pulled him close to her, just like she had when he had been a child. To her relief, and pleasure, he didn't protest and cuddled into her, and smiling a little, she began her story.

XX

The next day they still had another two days until they reached Hapes. Leia had reluctantly told Jacen everything about being Darth Caedus, and as expected he had been horrified and heartbroken by what he had become. When she had told him of what had transpired between him and Tahiri, he had run from the room and had been sick, disgusted that some version of himself could even have used the girl who, without fate wishing differently, probably would be another sister by now. He had then returned, white and ill looking and the two had curled up together, and if Leia hadn't been there he probably would have woken up to find Ben or Jaina wrapped around him. But, now that he knew all the ins and outs of what he had become, he was determined to prevent something like that ever happening. As such, he went to find his aunt first.

"Bloody computer's not been recalibrated since fecking Yavin..." she grumbled as she improved the sights of the quad lasers as she had a sneaky suspicion they were going to need them.

"Aunt Mara? Can I talk to you?" Jacen asked from the bottom of the ladder.

"Sure Jacen, come on up." She said and squiggled into the side of the turret to make room for her nephew.

Jacen grinned in amusement as he saw what she was doing.

"Paranoid?" he asked with a grin.

"Well there's still plenty of people out there with a grudge against your father who'd like to take a shot at him...I still contemplate it myself sometimes..." she said musingly.

"We all do. I'm sorry." He said, his voice sounding a bit down.

Mara was interrupted from her entertaining visions of shooting Han and turned her red head to look at Jacen. He still looked perfectly happy, and there was a little less hurt in his eyes now.

"For what?" she asked, though she had a suspicion.

"Killing you." He said lamely.

Mara laughed, her suspicion right. She reached an arm out in the cramped area and embraced her nephew.

"Oh Jacen, I don't care about that. It was another timeline. You aren't Darth Caedus here. And considering how you've been the last few days...I don't think you will be." She said.

Jacen gave her a genuine smile that he hadn't used for a few days.

"Thanks aunt Mara." He said and hugged her.

"You're welcome. Besides...we all know you cheated. I'd have won in a fair fight." She said as he headed down the stairs.

"You can't prove that!" he taunted happily as he exited the gunwell.

"Neither can you. Search your feelings...you know it to be true." She said in her best Vader voice.

"Oh shut up." He said, laughing and Mara laughed too, then cursed as the damn guns started drifting again.

"Stupid hunk of junk..." she grumbled and got back to work.

Han was in the galley, fixing the salad they were having for dinner later.

"Radishes..." he mumbled to himself and went to the fridge.

Jacen grinned as his father headed to the fridge. It was always good when his father made the dinner...it spared them all from his mother's cooking.

"Don't forget spring onions." He said, and Han picked them up as well.

Han looked at his son and gave him a knife and spring onions to chop.

"What's up kid? Here to apologise for making me sleep with your sister and cousin?" he asked irritably, as his back was killing him.

"Sort of...did mom say why I was there last night?" Jacen asked as he peeled the onions.

Han nodded as he topped and tailed the radishes.

"Yeah, she did. You feeling a bit better now though?" he asked, as he knew his kid wouldn't have started to feel better until he had all the facts.

Jacen nodded half-heartedly.

"Yeah, sort of." Jacen said as he began chopping up the onions.

"Then I suppose I can live with a sore back then." Han said kindly, and Jacen grinned at his father.

"And I'm sorry about...all the stuff I did." He said in shame.

Han looked at his son and grinned.

"Jacen...it wasn't you. Everything changed. You aren't a Sith in this timeline. You don't have to apologise for something you didn't do." He said lightly, and Jacen shrugged.

"And I'm sorry for almost blowing up the ship." He said, and the knife clanged to the floor as Han stiffened up.

Jacen realised in an instant that he had just put his foot in it. He had expected his mother to have told him he nearly blew up the ship at the Battle of Hapes. Apparently not.

"You...you...you...shot at my ship!" Han demanded.

"Can you sort of forget I said that?" Jacen asked hopefully.

"You shot my ship? Look, I'm a tolerant guy. Killing your aunt Mara, torturing Ben...I can cope with. But trying to shoot the _Falcon_! That crosses the line mister." He growled, but Jacen knew he was having him on.

"Sorry dad." Jacen said with a laugh and Han rolled his eyes and pulled Jacen into a one armed hug.

"It's ok kid. I can forgive you for that too. You were under the influence or something. And like I said...it wasn't you." He said with a wink and Jacen smiled and left his father to finish the salad.

Jacen then went past the communications area, and frowned. Jaina was sitting there and her Force presence felt incredibly frustrated and irritable. He entered and sat down beside her and poured calm into their bond, but her glower told him that it wasn't working, so he desisted.

"What's up?" he asked.

Jaina shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. You've got enough to be dealing with, being a Sith Lord and all." She said, turning away from him.

"Jaina..." he said trying to get her talk, and trying and failing to suppress the small bit of hurt he felt at her words, and he could then feel her wince through their bond.

"Sorry bro. That wasn't fair." She said and turned to him.

"How you doing with that anyway?" she asked kindly.

"Nice try missy. But I asked first. What's up?" he asked, smiling at her attempted deflection.

She scowled.

"Damn this bond. It's a pain sometimes." She said resentfully, but she eventually surrendered.

"Alright, alright already. If you must know...Jag is what's up."

Jacen looked at her sympathetically. Since Jag had been approved by both the Chiss Ascendancy and the Jedi Order three years ago to hunt down Alema Rar, she had seen just as little of the man she loved as he had of Tenel Ka. They had only seen each other for brief periods, and that was only when Jag had figured out where Alema would be next and was able to alert Jaina. As he couldn't receive any help in order to fulfil the terms of his exile, Jacen knew it was putting a strain on both their relationships.

"What's up?" he asked.

Jaina sighed.

"Well sometimes...I'm just wondering...whether or not he actually wants to be with me." She admitted sadly.

Jacen looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to continue.

"Well, I love him, you know that...but I'm beginning to think he loves his honour more than he loves me." She said.

Jacen looked at her in surprise. For a start, even as her twin it was odd to get this much out of her. And also, for her to doubt that Jag loved her, things were seriously wrong.

"What makes you say that?" he asked in concern.

"Well I know he's fixated on stopping Alema so he can restore his honour, and I appreciate that. And it is slightly our fault that he's doing that. But...I reckon he cares more about getting that back than he does about me. Even the odd times we get to see each other, the next thing I know he's shooting off after Alema again. Sometimes he even forgets to say goodbye. I mean, I want to settle down with him, be a couple and all that...but I love him for who he is, not who he thinks he should be."

Jacen smiled slightly and reached over to pat his sister's hand.

"Jaina, you can't expect that much of him. Jag was raised by the Chiss, and like you said, he lost his honour because of us. The fact that when you met up again he still loved you shows that he isn't addicted to his honour. I reckon his problem is that he doesn't feel worthy enough to be your boyfriend or your husband." He theorised, and she raised an eyebrow.

"You are the daughter of Han and Leia Solo, two of the most famous people in the galaxy. You are the niece of Luke Skywalker and Mara Skywalker, so that makes you famous and respected as well. You're Anakin and I's sister, so that adds to your fame, and you're Ben's cousin as well. Not only that you're a famous Jedi in your own right, and you've done a lot of good. And you're the one who killed the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster. And next to you, Jag at the moment doesn't even have his position in the Chiss military. So, that's why he's so fixated on getting Alema...because if he does, in his own mind he'll feel like he deserves to have you."

Jaina looked at him, but he could tell that she wasn't really seeing him and was actually thinking it over.

"That could be it I suppose. Doesn't make it any easier though." She said sadly.

Jacen looked at her in understanding. He knew that all too well.

She then turned with a slight grin to her twin.

"So, enough about me. How are you coping with being all Sithy?" she asked, splaying her hands like she was using Force lightning.

Jacen shot her a look, and she desisted, but was still grinning.

"I'm getting there. Mom told me everything last night...some of it is just so bad...like what I did to..." he said, tailing off, not wanting her to know. She arced her eyebrow in question, but she could tell from his look that she wasn't going to get anything out of him about whatever it was.

"I'm sorry." He said suddenly, and she cocked her head.

"About what?" she asked.

"Going Sithy. I know it's silly to want to apologise but...it feels sort of right." He said, looking as though he was afraid she would question his sanity.

Jaina smiled.

"It's alright you know. You always were a little odd. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry I killed you." She said.

Jacen laughed, and Jaina couldn't help herself and joined him.

XX

K'kruhk was doing the crossword in the 'Historian Times' magazine when Mara came up to him.

"I want some answers." She said sitting down beside him with a stubborn look on her face.

"So do I. What the hell was the second name of Lord Hoth's Padawan?" he asked himself, tapping his pen against his chin.

Mara looked at him in confusion.

"Who? There was some poor sap called Hoth? Talk about hating your parents." She said, and K'kruhk looked at her strangely, but rolled his eyes.

"I know you want answers Mara. However I have very few to give. Unfortunately all of our research has proved very little. We do know that her name is Abeloth and that she has many powers. But exactly what she is, who she is or how she came into being, we do not know. I can only hope we find out more before we meet her for the first time." He said grimly.

Mara narrowed her eyes.

"Alright, that may be. But there's still something you aren't telling me." She said suspiciously and headed off.

K'kruhk shook his head. These Emperor's Hands were very suspicious. But then something dawned on him. She hadn't known the name of Hoth's Padawan. How curious. A thought entered his mind. This required more careful investigation. Curious he got to his feet and headed to find the others.

XX

"Can't you just talk to him?" Ben asked his father as he once again took out one of his men on the holo chess board.

Luke looked at his son, pondering his next move. And his son's words. Jacen had had a horrendous shock, being told that he was an evil Sith Lord who had killed millions, including family. But Luke, his own uncle, and the one who he used to come to on all problems he had to do with the Force, hadn't had the strength to talk to him. And from what K'kruhk had said, he also hadn't had the strength to try and stop Jacen...to try and save him. And that thought bothered him a lot.

Yes he and Jacen had had their troubles recently, that much was clear. Luke had issues with Jacen training Ben. Jacen had learnt far too many arcane Force powers and tricks on his journey for him to be comfortable with him teaching his son. He also felt that Jacen was bad for Ben and was having a negative influence on him. But, as time had gone on, while he still remained untrusting of the new Force powers Jacen had accumulated, and because he didn't entirely trust Jacen's motives, he did reluctantly admit that Jacen was good for Ben. Luke had seen Jacen and Ben together and he knew that the two loved each other just as much as Luke and Mara loved Ben, and as much as Jacen and Jaina loved each other. But he still remained resistant to Jacen teaching Ben, and despite the trouble it caused with Mara, he couldn't get over it. Perhaps because every time the two of them talked about Ben it devolved into a full fledged argument. The only thing that achieved was to upset Ben and make Luke unpopular with Mara. And once, a few years ago, Ben had been present for one of these arguments and had gotten upset, and rather than turning to his parents for comfort he had instead turned to Jacen, who had elected to retreat and care for Ben rather than continue the argument. But Ben, when he had seen him the next day, said that both he and Jacen had been sad that Mara had forced Luke to spend the night on the couch. Han, Leia and Jaina, despite the time change, did not like the cool tension between them, and what K'kruhk had said was true...Luke used to be Jacen's closest guardian. So why was he still not reconciled with his nephew, especially when Jacen actually needed it, and thought Luke was ashamed to admit it, had tried many times only to be rebuffed by another argument about Ben?

"You're right son. It is high time Jacen and I talked. And we will I promise. You can't go on with us at each other's throats." Luke said, but to his surprise Ben rolled his eyes.

"Dad, it's good that you want to stop this for me. But that isn't the right reason to want to make up with Jacen. Considering what Aunt Leia dumped on him, he _needs _you! He actually wants to talk to you. You served Palpatine as his Sith apprentice! Jacen became a Sith Lord in the other reality. Mom was only ever a Dark Jedi if anything. You are the only one here who has come close to what happened to him in the other timeline. And he needs to talk to you about that. Because out of all of us, even me and Jaina, you are the one who will understand how he's feeling at the moment the most, because you've actually been through it." Ben said, then proceeded to put Luke into checkmate.

Luke gazed at his son, and a proud smile came onto his lips. This was his son, standing up to his father, who he had used to be intimidated by, and telling him that he was wrong in the way he was treating Jacen. And while a part of his argument did come from his love and loyalty to Jacen, a large part of it came from his heart because it was true. Ben was developing into a fine, strong, fair minded and just young man, and Luke couldn't be more proud. Of Ben...and of Jacen.

"Jacen is really training you well. You're turning into a fine young man Ben." Luke said proudly, and Ben grinned happily, and blushed a little at the compliment.

"Thanks dad. But don't just tell me that, tell him that. And then we might actually get somewhere." Ben advised, and Luke laughed.

"True. I'm very proud of you Ben." Luke said and reached across to clasp his son on the shoulder.

"Thanks dad. And another good reason for you to talk to Jacen...you used to do Lumiya. You know all her tricks." He said with a roughish grin.

Luke narrowed his eyes but couldn't quite keep the grin off his face.

"For your information boyo I did not used to do Lumiya. Our relationship didn't develop that far." He said sternly but Ben laughed.

"Come off it dad. Aside from mom, have any of your relationships turned out good? You did her, you shot her, she became a Sith and wants to kill us all. You did her and now it's coming back to bite you in the ass." Ben said grinning widely.

Luke looked at his son petulantly. But come to think of it...a fair few of his relationships had transpired in such a way. However, he would rather fly solo against the Death Star, the World Devastator fleet, the Galaxy Gun and the Sun Crusher than admit that to his teenage son.

"Jacen really needs to monitor your viewing habits. You're coming out with very crass language." He said lightly, scolding him but not quite, with a smile still on his face.

Ben smiled.

"He doesn't know half the stuff that I watch. It's an advantage to being left on your own when Jacen goes to see Jaina or does one of his disappearing acts." Ben said cockily.

Luke was slightly concerned about that at first, but then he thought about it. Jacen was trusting Ben to stay out of trouble and still continue what he was supposed to be doing whenever he was away. Luke had never before realised before how much responsibility and trust that Jacen put in his son. And the fact that Ben was equal to the challenge made his heart swell with pride for Ben, and affection for Jacen. At his age, most kids like Ben would wait until the adult was out of the way and then call their friends around and party. But Ben didn't...or at least he kept it hidden from his parents and his cousin.

"I will adopt a policy of wilful ignorance to _that _comment..." Luke said, and Ben laughed.

K'kruhk then stomped through.

"I have a bone to pick with you." He said grumpily, poking him in the chest with his sharp finger nail.

Luke knew Mara wanted to talk to K'kruhk to try and get more out of him, but as she hadn't immediately relayed any information to him, he assumed she had failed.

"If you think I can exert any control over Mara then you're wrong. The Force is strong with that one." He said sagely, grinning at Ben.

"There is a lot of electricity running through her sockets." Ben chimed in and both K'kruhk and Luke turned to look at him incredulously.

"What? I'm fed up of the same boring old mantras all the time...it's fun to mix things up a bit, it might make us remember the stuff more! Like 'hard to see the dark side is' could be changed to 'it would be easier to look at light bulbs than black lights' and 'there is no ignorance, there is knowledge' could be 'there's no point being stupid when you can be clever'. You know, change things around a bit, make it more fun to learn, it'll be easier to remember and we might actually pass those silly tests Master Tionne insists we sit as younglings." He said brightly.

Luke looked at K'kruhk who scratched his head in confusion.

"Mara, our son is insane!" he wailed.

"Don't look at me. Insanity comes from your side of the family." She called back, and K'kruhk and Ben laughed at the look of betrayal on Luke's face. Charming. Leaving him out to dry.

"Anyway...where was I...oh yes, my bone to pick with you." K'kruhk said grumpily.

"What bone?" Luke asked in confusion.

"Your wife did not know the name of Lord Hoth's Padawan to help me with my crossword." He said, his eyes narrowed.

"What, just because she doesn't know some dude's Padawan dad gets in trouble?" Ben asked sceptically.

"Do you know Lord Hoth's Padawans name?" K'kruhk asked mildly.

"I didn't even know there was some dude called Hoth. Seems pretty mean to me calling your kid the same name as one of the coldest places in the galaxy." Ben reasoned, and Luke had to suppress a smile.

K'kruhk sighed.

"Your master has been neglecting your education." He said in disappointment.

Jacen and Jaina walked through at that moment.

"What am I getting blamed for now?" he asked irritably.

"Your apprentice doesn't know about Lord Hoth." K'kruhk said.

However, the

blank looks he got from the twins were not what he had been expecting.

"You mean you don't know about Hoth either?" he demanded incredulously.

"Should we?" Jaina asked as Mara, Han and Leia came through.

K'kruhk took a calming sigh.

"They don't know about the New Sith Wars. Fine. Understandable...we mustn't panic." He intoned.

"Well let's try a bit further back. You've heard of Exar Kun I presume?" he asked urgently.

"Well of course we have, who hasn't?" Leia asked, considering the spirit of Exar Kun had nearly killed Luke.

"What about the Jedi Covenant? The Mandalorian Wars? The Jedi Civil War? The Dark Wars? The Dark Ages? The Deadlock War?" he demanded with increasing urgency, his voice getting higher at their continued blank looks.

They'd heard a little about most of those things, but not enough for him to be satisfied with. Ben grinned at Han.

"Ten credits on K'kruhk." He whispered, and his uncle nodded, looking at Luke trustingly.

"You're on kid. Why is he getting so worked up though?"

"Beats me."

K'kruhk took a deep breath, then turned irritably to Luke.

"Do you mean to tell me that this lot don't know jack about the history of the Jedi Order?" he demanded angrily.

"They know some stuff! Like the Clone Wars and that." Luke said defensively.

K'kruhk then gave a growl of annoyance, took his lightsaber off his belt, and smacked Luke on the head with the hilt.

"Foolish boy! Your Jedi know sod all about ancient history! That frankly isn't on. It is time to rectify that right now." He decided, and picked up Luke, who was rubbing his head tenderly, and carried him horizontally in one arm and marched him through to the galley like he was a roll of carpet.

Ben held out his hand with a grin, and Han scowled as he handed over the credits.

"Great. Not only am I an ATM machine for my kids, but now I'm one for my nephew as well." He grumbled and Ben laughed, while the others followed an irate K'kruhk and dazed Luke through to the galley.

XX

The _Falcon_ shot out of hyperspace to see the beautiful planet of Hapes before them. Jacen smiled, and a flutter of excitement entered his heart. Despite everything that he'd learnt about him being Darth Caedus in the last few days, he was going to see the woman he loved and his beautiful daughter, and that would possibly calm him in a way that everyone else hadn't been able to. However, for all his excitement for seeing two of the people he loved most in the galaxy, he was also slightly nervous. This was the first time any of them, aside from Ben, had met Allana, and he was going to reveal to them her true identity. He was incredibly nervous about how they would react, how they would treat Allana, what they would say in complaint about her, whether it would upset his daughter...

But he knew that they would love her too. But considering everything that they had said over the last few days since his mother had changed the timeline, he was worried about just how they would take it...even if he did have a sneaky suspicion that his mom and K'kruhk already knew. And there was a knowing glance in Ben's eyes that he didn't quite like, though it did make him smile. If he had figured it out, his mother would be proud of him at least.

The last two days they had spent learning history. K'kruhk, enraged that they didn't know any Jedi history beyond the Clone Wars and a little about the Great Sith War had immediately started teaching them about the past. Jacen had actually quite enjoyed learning about the Great Hyperspace War and going into the Great Sith War in more detail, and K'kruhk had said that on their trip to Bimmiel they would learn about the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Covenant he had mentioned. Jacen had rediscovered his zest for learning, and he was quite enjoying it too. And while Luke, Mara, Leia and Han had been resistant, they too had learnt, and even Ben and Jaina had enjoyed it.

When asked as to why it was important, K'kruhk mentioned that the true threat, which he called Abeloth, had powers akin to that of several Sith Lords from throughout history. Hence why he was teaching them.

"This is the _Millennium Falcon_ to Hapan Ground Security. I have clearance for Queen Mother Tenel Ka's private hangar." Jacen said into the comm as Han came up to watch his son land the ship.

Tenel Ka's private hangar had a direct route to her private chambers, and only she, Allana, Isolder and her two cousins Trista and Taryn were allowed in there. When Zekk came with Taryn, he was forced to wait outside if they wanted to go into there. It was totally secure, and while apparently a bolt hole for Tenel Ka and their daughter if they were threatened, it served more as a secret place where Tenel Ka and Allana could greet Jacen as a loved one rather than as an official visitor like she would have to if she met him through a normal reception. While several of the nobles were suspicious that he was always allowed in through that entrance, Tenel Ka had fobbed them off by telling them that he and Ben were investigating a possible resurgence of Ni'Korish, an anti Jedi faction that had been created by her grandmother Ta'a Chume in honour of her own mother, and as that group was part of Hapes and could threaten its Jedi queen and heir, it was best if an outside source dealt with it.

Jacen frowned a little as he piloted the ship down. He knew that rendering Ta'a Chume comatose had been wrong, and that could very well have also helped him become a Sith in the alternate reality. But try as he might, he couldn't feel any regret for what he had done. Ta'a Chume was far too manipulative and dangerous to be left in any state where she could threaten the woman he loved and his daughter.

"You ok buddy?" Han asked as he sat in the co-pilots seat.

"Yeah. Just a bit worried that's all." Jacen said as they slipped down through the clouds.

"Sith troubles?" Han asked, but Jacen shook his head.

"No. You'll see soon." He said as the hangar cleared him for landing.

A few minutes later Jacen set the ship down and together they all stepped out into the hangar. Prince Isolder's little ship, the _Beam Racer _stood beside them, a fish head shaped sort of ship, all sleek lines and curves. But while the others looked around the hangar, impressed by the new facilities, and the little ship, Jacen had eyes for the two people standing on front of them.

Tenel Ka, her grey eyes alight with delight, looked at him and smiled. She was as beautiful as ever, her red-gold hair falling to her shoulders from behind a silver tiara. Her amputated arm, which he had cut off years before during a lightsaber training incident, hung by her side. Her smile was as beautiful as ever, and Jacen wanted nothing more than to run to her and kiss her. For a second, he looked resentfully at the sky. Like Anakin and Tahiri, they were prevented from being together by the cruel tricks of Fate. As the Queen Mother of a planet where secrecy, lies and manipulation were commonplace, she could not take Jacen as her husband, though he would gladly ask her to marry him, and would have done so several times over if they both weren't so committed to their duty, her as a Queen, and him as a Jedi. He missed her every day and it was a constant hole in his heart not being able to be with her.

And then he looked at his beautiful eight year old daughter Allana. Born during the Dark Nest Crisis, after he and Tenel Ka had spent a passionate night together after his return from his journey, she had been a target for Ta'a Chume before Jacen had put paid to her permanently. With red gold hair like her mothers, and eyes just like hers as well, she had a little button nose and had a zest for learning and for life, just like her father. Jacen wanted to be there for her all the time, like a parent should be, helping her mother raise their beautiful daughter. But, due to the planet being Hapes, his frequent presence would eventually make the vain, but not unintelligent Hapan nobles figure out her true paternity and make her into a target. It was also for that reason that Jacen and Tenel Ka had agreed that they couldn't tell his family the truth about Allana, even though they had both wanted to, because their frequent visits would also tip the nobles off. Jacen could make enough sporadic appearances to keep them guessing, but his entire family showing up to see her fairly frequently would give the game away. If the nobles ever figured out that Tenel Ka wasn't interested in any of them as she was in love with Jacen, or that Allana was not the daughter of some unidentified Hapan noble, the consequences would be disastrous.

Jacen walked up to Tenel Ka and bowed deeply.

"Queen Mother." He said in formal greeting, rising to face her.

Tenel Ka smiled gently at him.

"Welcome back Jacen. I've missed you." She whispered as his family started coming closer.

And then she did something he did not expect. She raised her single arm, snaked it around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

"Whoa!" Jaina cried in shock as she saw the two kiss, and she could feel pure love rushing through their twin bond as Jacen reciprocated the kiss.

"Well...that was unexpected." Han commented, mildly put out that he hadn't known his son had been so serious with Tenel Ka.

"No kidding." Luke said in agreement as the two young lovers broke off.

"Boy you guys are blind if you didn't know he had it bad for her. I've suspected for ages." Ben said cockily, to which Leia and K'kruhk smiled.

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Mara demanded irritably as they approached.

"It's his business. And besides, if I'm right about Allana, if I told you, it would be all over the temple by tea time, which could get her into severe trouble." Ben said patiently, and Mara, Luke, Jaina and Han looked at him curiously, but Leia winked at her nephew.

"Wow. I should use this hangar a _lot_ more often." Jacen said huskily, trying to ignore the great surprise he was feeling through his bond with his sister.

"Sorry. But it is my private hangar and if I cant give you a proper welcome here, where can I give it you?" she asked with a coy smile, and Jacen grinned.

They were among family here, and as a result, no one would tell anyone on Hapes about what had transpired. They were quite safe in showing their love for each other here. Jacen then turned to his daughter, who had been busily looking at the ceiling while her parents kissed.

"Hey baby girl." He said, lifting her up and hugging her to him.

"Jacen!" she cried happily, then as she held her close she whispered "_daddy_" in his ear, making his heart swell with love.

Tenel Ka smiled in greeting at the others, who all bowed to her, but she waved it off.

"It is good to see you all. Welcome to Hapes." She said, and hugged Jaina in greeting.

"Well that was a surprise." She said as she hugged her friend.

Tenel Ka nodded in amusement.

"Sorry, I forgot you would get the backlash of that." She said sheepishly as Jacen talked to Allana about what she had been up to.

"It was a bit of a shock kid. It's good to see you." Han said hugging her in greeting.

"Hello Han. You look well. Retirement must be agreeing with you." She said sweetly, and he looked at her in shock.

"Alright, this thing between you and Jacen is obviously improving your sense of humour..._not_." he said and she laughed, not caring at all that he was addressing her as a kid he had used to see fairly a lot of rather than a queen, and she didn't mind one bit.

"It's good to see you Tenel Ka." Luke said in greeting as he clasped hands.

"And it is good to see you too Master Skywalker." She said as Han tried to get closer so he could hear what Jacen was saying to Allana.

"Queen Mother." Mara said formally, but smiled as Tenel Ka clasped her arm too.

"Welcome Mara."

Leia hugged Tenel Ka in greeting, and Tenel Ka saw what Jacen had meant in his message. There was a little but too much knowing in her eyes, as there was in Ben's.

Ben inclined his head, and Tenel Ka shook her head.

"Welcome back Ben." She said fondly, ruffling his hair, and smiled at his look of mild annoyance, though he was still smiling.

And then the large Whiphid came into view with the droids.

"Queen Mother. A pleasure to meet you again. I am Master K'kruhk, a Jedi of the Old Republic." He said in greeting, and she shook his hand.

"Again?" she asked, looking confused.

"Oh has Jacen not told you yet? Not to worry." He said.

"Jedi Ben!" Allana cried in delight and ran to Ben who bent down and hugged her.

"Hey Allana, miss us?" he asked her fondly.

"Yeah!" she said excitedly.

Jacen looked at Ben and Allana happily. Two of the people he loved most in the galaxy together. Allana loved spending time with Ben, and when Jacen brought him with him to visit Tenel Ka, he would often go and play with her, finding it just as enjoyable as she did. And it let Jacen and Tenel Ka turn their attention to other matters...

"Allana, remember how when Jacen showed you that picture of this lot, and he said that one day you could tell them what they really are?" Tenel Ka asked as she bent down and looked at her daughter.

"Yeah." Allana said excitedly.

"Well you can here. Go on, tell them all. And as Jacen doesn't seem overly worried about K'kruhk I suppose he is alright as well." Tenel Ka said as Allana let go of Ben.

Tenel Ka then stood on tiptoes and whispered into Jacen's ear.

"She is beginning to look forward to his visits as much as she looks forward to yours." She said, and Jacen grinned.

Allana looked at them all and smiled.

"Jacen is my daddy." She said proudly.

Leia grinned widely, and K'kruhk laughed. Ben looked quite pleased with himself. The others however were a different story.

Han's mouth dropped open and he looked at Allana, Tenel Ka and Jacen in turn, his eyes wide and bulging in shock. Luke and Mara turned to look at each other in shock, looked to Ben who winked smugly, and then turned to Jacen, who looked down sheepishly. And Jaina was nearly floored. She staggered a bit in shock and she looked at Allana as if she was some mystical figure. Threepio and Artoo immediately began talking.

"Did she say that Master Jacen was her father?" Threepio asked.

Artoo beeped an affirmative.

"Oh how wonderful, that means Mistress Leia and Master Han are grandparents, and Mistress Jaina is an aunt! How splendid!" he said cheerily and walked forward to Allana who smiled up at them.

"I've heard about you two. You used to babysit daddy." She said.

"Indeed we did Mistress Allana. I must say I am quite pleased to welcome you to the family. I am C3PO, human-cyborg relations. And this is my counterpart, R2D2." He said, indicating the little droid while her organic family tried to recover from the shock she had dropped on them.

Artoo whistled in cheery greeting, and then Leia bent down in front of Allana.

"You're my granny aren't you?" she asked, and Leia smiled.

"Yes sweetie, I am." She said and felt a small thrill as her granddaughter hugged her in greeting.

Yes, she was delighted to have Jacen back, but changing the timeline meant that they didn't have Allana around. But, aside from the fact that her hair was not dyed black, she was exactly the same child she had been before the time change. And Leia was happy that Jacen and Tenel Ka had decided to tell them about her before they went off to fight Abeloth, and without her prompting. And as she held her granddaughter, she realised that she also had missed Allana a lot too, and tried to fight the tears in her eyes.

Jacen then stood beside Ben, who was grinning as Leia greeted Allana.

"Alright you, how did you figure it out?" he asked curiously, and the old shame and guilt he felt at having once mind rubbed Ben coming back.

"Simple deduction really. The fact that every time we go out, you blow off every woman who comes your way, even though some are very cute. The fact that your eyes mist over a little every time Tenel Ka and Allana is mentioned. The fact that you never explain your disappearing acts, even when it is quite obvious that you've gone to Hapes as I have to fill the tank. That you seem quite willing to let me play with Allana and you and Tenel Ka come back a little bit tired. The fact that you always take something for Allana. The very big phone bills for several long distance, late night calls to Hapes...lots of stuff." Ben said proudly, and Jacen couldn't quite help smiling proudly.

"Yeah...there are a fair few late night phone calls aren't there? I do it when you're asleep, I thought that was enough. Obviously not..." he mumbled guiltily and Ben giggled.

Han had finally recovered.

"You, she, he, you, her, that...what?" he asked in confusion, and Tenel Ka smiled.

"Han, calm down. Jacen and I are in love and always have been. That is a fact. When he came to me to borrow the fleet during the Killik Crisis, we started sort of seeing each other, or at least as close as we can get to it, and we had Allana. If you're worried that he knocked me up and then scarpered, don't. We do love each other. And Allana has been quite interested to hear her daddy's stories about her famous granddad who managed to save the galaxy and win the heart of a princess." She said.

Han grinned and finally recovered enough, and bent down to embrace his granddaughter as his wife got up, and turned away to hide her tears. K'kruhk patted her back kindly.

"Hey little girl, I'm your grandpa." He said proudly.

"I know." Allana said proudly as she hugged him.

"Why didn't you tell us? Tell me?" Jaina demanded hitting her brother on the arm, and he looked down sheepishly.

"Well we wanted to...but because of everything we couldn't. Trust me Jaya, we wanted to! We just couldn't." Jacen said sadly, and as he looked at his dad hugging his daughter, he couldn't quite suppress the feeling that they should have maybe told them the truth a long time before.

Jaina looked at the two of them and smiled.

"Yes I suppose it does make sense. And I suppose when she was born we weren't exactly on the best terms." She said soothingly as Han broke off and patted his granddaughters head fondly.

He went to Leia and hugged her to him. Looks like she wasn't the only one who could drop a bombshell.

Jaina then sat down beside Allana.

"Hey, I guess I'm your auntie." Jaina said, smiling at her niece.

"Yeah. Daddy says you're a cool sister, but that you're a pain in the bottom sometimes." She said earnestly, and Jacen blushed a little, as Jaina arced her eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Hey be thankful she didn't say 'ass'. She's picked up a habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time." Tenel Ka said in amusement.

"Oh? Such as?" he asked.

Tenel Ka whispered into his ear, and he laughed.

"Well your daddy is a pain in the butt sometimes too." Jaina said with a smile as she sat with her niece and put an arm over her shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Han asked, and Jacen looked away from him.

"We wanted to, but we couldn't. It might have put her in danger." He said, and Han nodded in understanding.

"Hey, if I'm your cousin, what does that make me to Allana?" Ben asked curiously.

"A monkey's uncle." Jacen replied, and Ben shot him a dirty look.

When Jaina separated from Allana, Luke and Mara bent down beside her.

"We're your great uncle and great aunt." Luke said happily, while Mara smiled at her new great niece.

"I know. Daddy says you're both big heroes." She said, and Mara hugged her as did Luke.

"He's just angling for a pay rise." Mara said, and Jacen looked at her sceptically.

"It can't get much lower." He said teasingly, and she grinned.

As they broke off, K'kruhk bent down.

"It is a pleasure to meet you young one." He said gently, shaking her hand in greeting.

"So who are you?" Allana asked curiously.

"Oh just some old fossil your grandma dug up." He said with a twinkle in his eyes, and Allana laughed.

"We need to talk." Jacen said to Tenel Ka.

"Fact. Ben, can you play with Allana while the rest of us talk?" she asked, and he nodded happily.

"Want to play X-Wings?" he asked happily.

"Yeah!" Allana cried happily and he picked her up and put her on her shoulders.

"Master Ben, are you sure that's safe?" Threepio asked.

"He won't let her fall Threepio." Jacen soothed, looking fondly at the two of them.

"Not safe for you. You're the TIE Fighter we're chasing." Ben said with a wide grin.

"Zap!" Allana cried and Threepio moaned.

"Here I go again." He said miserably and started tottering away, while Ben made engine like noises, while Allana punctuated the air with her cries of 'zap!'.

Threepio could hear Artoo beeping in laughter. He would never live this one down.

XX

A while later, they had explained the timeline change to Tenel Ka. She had clasped Jacen's hand as they had explained everything, and saw that, different timeline or not, he was hurt by what he had done as a Sith. However she was glad that things had changed. It was bad enough that the man she loved had turned evil and had kidnapped her daughter, without being told he had also killed her father. But, he had lost his life saving her and Allana, which improved things slightly. And she could tell that Jacen was deeply frightened by everything that he had been told.

And the existence of Abeloth scared her no end, as did the fact that they were going to ally with the Sith who had turned Jacen in the first place.

"I figured something big must be up when you sent me that message." She said worriedly and Jacen nodded.

"Protect her, and yourself." Jacen said huskily as they prepared to depart.

"I will. Be careful Jacen. I don't want our daughter growing up without a father." She said softly.

"Neither do I." He said, and waited as his family hugged her, and just held Tenel Ka to him, and he could feel that she was frightened.

Allana hugged Ben goodbye and he waved to Tenel Ka as he too climbed aboard, resigned to the ear bashing he would probably be getting from Threepio for chasing him around the hangar.

"Be good for your mother ok honey? I love you." Jacen said as he hugged his little girl.

"I love you too daddy." She said sweetly as she hugged him and held her cuddly tauntaun that he had once given her, which she had also called Jacen.

"And I love you too." He said to Tenel Ka and kissed her passionately before heading onto the ship.

"Be safe my love." Tenel Ka said and she and Allana waved as the ship headed spacewards, bound for the home of the Sith.

XX

The ship lanced into hyperspace. As it had transpired, Leia and K'kruhk had already know about Allana because of the timeline change, and Ben had strongly suspected. Jaina had done with her berating and was already writing down a list of things to spoil her niece with after the mission was over. Mara and Han were happily conversing about the little girl they had just met, and about how well Jacen and Tenel Ka had managed to keep their relationship a secret. However, Jacen was feeling anxious, and he knew that could only mean one thing: he was going to have to talk to Luke.

However, before he could go and find his uncle to get it over with, Luke came to find him.

"Can we talk?" he asked, and Jacen nodded and the two went and sat in the forward cargo hold.

They sat in silence for a while. Jacen knew Luke didn't trust him to train Ben and the news that he had been a Sith in the other timeline meant that he would probably try and take him away from him. But Jacen would fight tooth and nail to keep Ben as his apprentice. He owed that much to Ben at least.

"Jacen...I know we haven't been getting on very well recently. But that has to stop. For our sake as much as Ben's." Luke began.

Jacen looked at his uncle sadly, wondering if they were going to break all records and devolve into a fight within seconds.

"Uncle Luke...I want to go back to normal. But, we aren't going to be able to do that. There's too much mistrust." He said simply.

Luke looked at him questioningly.

"You can't say anything about not trusting people. You never told anyone about Allana." He said.

Jacen glared at him angrily.

"And as I explained, I did that to protect her, not because I wanted to. And it's not my mistrust that's the problem, or me not trusting you that's upsetting Ben. I still do trust you uncle Luke. It's you who doesn't trust me." He said bitterly.

Luke looked at his nephew, and then it actually dawned on him how much he had hurt Jacen over the years. Jacen had never lost his love or trust for Luke, and Luke, for what probably seemed to Jacen, had started mistrusting him for no apparent reason.

Luke then smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Yeah, ok, I'll give you that. I'm sorry Jacen." He said and looked right into his nephew's eyes, and showed him that he meant it.

Jacen grinned a little bit.

"I know. And I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone about Allana, but I was doing it to protect her. But for what it's worth, if we hadn't been at each other's throats, I probably would have told you." He said.

Luke smiled at him then clasped his shoulder.

"I have to say Jacen, I am really proud of how much you have done for Ben. You really are training him well. And I'm beginning to think no one else could have done such a good job as you've actually done with him. He's developed into a fine, strong, confident young man and I couldn't be more happy. And...I really do appreciate how much responsibility you give him." Luke said, and Jacen's cheeks flushed with pleasure.

"Thank you uncle Luke." He said meekly, but then looked at him curiously.

"Well, if you think I'm doing a good job...why don't you trust me with him? Because you still don't, even if you think I am doing a good job." He complained, and Luke looked at his shoes.

"It's sort of hard to explain. When you returned from your journey, you had all these weird and wacky Force powers. But, unlike the rest of us, you could actually get Ben to open up and use the Force. When he became your unofficial apprentice, I was afraid. I was afraid that you would start teaching Ben all these arcane Force powers that you had learnt, and that it would be too much for him too soon." He explained, and couldn't quite bring himself to look at the hurt expression on Jacen's face.

"What, you think back then, even before the timeline change, I was trying to lure him to the dark side? Thanks for that." He said angrily, but Luke patted the air to calm him.

"No. I thought you were trying to convince him of your viewpoint, that the Unifying Force was a better philosophy than the Living Force. And I was afraid that at his young age, and because he loved you so much and was so loyal to you, it would turn his head. And, I didn't like the fact that your philosophy might have influenced Ben in ways he wasn't ready to be influenced that's all." Luke elaborated.

Jacen looked at him resentfully.

"Yeah, I believed in that philosophy back then, but I reckoned it was too complicated a theory for him to get his head around so I just taught him the Living Force, and as he seemed okay with it, I didn't push the Unifying Force that much." He said bitterly, and Luke looked down, feeling a bit foolish.

"Alright. I'm sorry."

"And what's more, I wouldn't teach Ben any of the tricks I picked up until I felt he was ready for them. The only ones I would teach him are the ones I felt he would be able to handle or that would be useful, like Force flash." He growled.

Luke smiled ruefully at Jacen.

"I am sorry Jacen. I doubted your abilities, and to some extent your motives. I was wrong. And you are a good master for Ben. You trained him better than I might have managed." He said soothingly, and Jacen smiled a little.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." He said, but remained smiling.

Luke sighed.

"And there was another reason I didn't trust you with Ben. It's stupid, and not very Jedi like I know. But, one reason was the fact that I was jealous." Luke said.

Jacen looked at him in surprise.

"What? Jealous? Of what?" he asked incredulously, and Luke grinned.

"Of the bond you and Ben had. Mara and I had been trying for years to get him to open up and use the Force. You strolled back after five years missing with all these wacky powers, and managed it in a couple of weeks. And he opened up with you, and he actually really enjoyed being with you, and it sort of hurt me a bit. I mean, I'm his dad, but he would rather spend time with you than with me. He would spend time with Mara as well, but he didn't seem to enjoy any time he spent with me." Luke said sadly, and Jacen smiled in sympathy.

"Aww uncle Luke, don't be silly. He did like spending time with you, a lot. The problem was sometimes you sort of acted as a master rather than as a dad. And that just annoyed him. But he did like spending time with you...still does as a matter of fact, especially because now he feels he can relax around you. And you have noticed that you seem a lot closer lately, even with your frequent spats with me." Jacen said.

Luke smiled.

"I know. I told you it was silly. But...I reckon we're getting there now. I shouldn't have been jealous of you, and I should have trusted you to do the right thing...and that was something Mara and I both forgot to do. And I'm sorry Jacen." He said, smiling at his nephew, and he could feel the bond they once had slowly emerging again.

"You aren't exclusively to blame uncle Luke. I probably should have told you what stuff I was going to teach Ben, involved you in it a bit more, but remember, at that age the three of us had each other. He didn't have anyone. So I thought he might have clammed up again if he thought I was doing everything on your orders. Kids that age like getting one up on their parents, like exasperating them. And he saw me as his partner in doing that. And as you know, he is pretty resourceful, and smart. After all he did figure out me and Tenel Ka without so much as a question to me. So I kept quiet in case he went back inside himself, because he would view me as one of the 'adults' rather than one of the kids." Jacen said.

Luke laughed.

"Yes, I remember your frequent attempts with your brother and sister to drive us all endlessly insane. And I suppose I never really considered how much that did for you three, considering I grew up as an only child as well." He said musingly.

Jacen grinned.

"And there's another reason I didn't tell you what I was doing with Ben."

"Oh?"

"Well, after I returned, Ben was the person I was closest to, aside from Tenel Ka and Allana, and I couldn't be with them nearly as much as I wanted. Jaina had withdrawn because I wasn't a bug lover like she was, I wasn't as close to mom and dad as I had been, and you and aunt Mara didn't trust me. I was afraid that if I told you what stuff I was doing with him, you'd take him away from me. I liked spending time with him too much." Jacen said with a rueful shrug.

Luke smiled.

"I think we were both being silly and hurting the person who mattered most- Ben. So, friends again?" he asked and held out his hand.

"Yeah." Jacen said and shook, and the block on their bond vanished.

"Woohoo!" Ben cried from somewhere further aft, to Mara's cheer.

"Shut up!" Luke said good naturedly as Jacen laughed.

"I've missed this." He said, and Luke nodded.

"Yeah. So have I." He said and Jacen sat closer to him.

"Sorry uncle Luke." He said sadly.

"For what?" he asked in confusion.

"You know, turning to the dark side, killing your wife, torturing your son and all that jazz." Jacen said and Luke pulled him into a one armed hug.

"Oh I suppose I can let it slide this once, especially considering it's partly my own fault because I just let you fall." Luke said.

They sat together for a long while, in silence.

"How do you atone uncle Luke?" Jacen asked suddenly.

"Atone? Jacen you have nothing to atone for." He said in amusement.

"Yeah but I feel like I do. So how do I do it?" he asked curiously, and Luke smiled and pulled him into a proper hug.

"You do good. And if you keep going the way you're going...you're well on the way." Luke said proudly, and Jacen smiled.

"Thanks uncle Luke."

"You're welcome Jacen."

XX

K'kruhk was just reading an article in his paper about the discovery of an ancient Sith lanvarok on a world that the Sith were apparently nowhere near at any time when he felt Leia on the other side of the paper. Smiling, he lowered it to see her sitting down in front of him.

"Do we have to do this?" she asked worriedly.

K'kruhk nodded sadly.

"I am afraid we must my dear. I too am worried, don't doubt that. Having an embittered Sith lover of Luke and an insane mutilated former Jedi on board does not sit any better with me than it does with you my dear, never fear." He said sagely.

Leia looked worried.

"What if it just happens all over again?" she asked fearfully, and K'kruhk looked at her intently.

"If it happens again, if you feel Jacen, Jaina or Ben going dark, what will you do?" he asked her.

Leia shrugged.

"Try and stop it obviously." She said, determined not to let her family get ripped apart again.

"Then there you have it then my dear. You know better now. And I think that considering how close you all are in this time frame, Lumiya would have a far harder job of turning anyone than she did before." He said proudly, and Leia smiled half-heartedly.

"Maybe. I still don't like it." She said.

"I know. But as Sith go, we could be trying to ally with a lot worse." K'kruhk reminded her, and she had to give him that.

"Is there any hope this time around?" she asked suddenly, and K'kruhk smiled.

"There is some. Not a lot. But some. But as the darkness gathers my dear, all we must remember to do is to stay strong to the light." He said wisely, and she grinned and left him to his paper.

Come to think of it, that was a good bit of advice. He should maybe write it down for future reference. Humming to himself he got back to his paper.

XX

The ship was making good time towards Bimmiel as they all headed to bed for the night. Jacen was about to get onto his own bunk, when he nearly yelped as someone was already sitting there.

"Ben! Don't do that!" he scolded weakly, trying to calm his heart.

"Sorry. I just wanted to know if you were feeling any better." He said brightly, talking quietly so as not to wake Jaina.

Jacen smiled and sat down beside his cousin.

"Yeah, actually. I am. I'm feeling a lot better than I have the last few days." He said happily, and Ben grinned.

"Good." He said happily.

"And I reckon I'm going to be alright, so you, my far too clever young apprentice, can stop worrying so much. It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around." He said teasingly.

"Nah, you Solo twins get into far too much trouble for me to stop worrying about you. It's a full time occupation, my silly master." Ben said with a smile.

Jacen looked at him in mock indignation, then smiled.

"And thank you Ben. Your dad said you convinced him to come talk to me. And we did, and without arguing too. So thanks." He said fondly.

"You're welcome. So we're all one big happy family again." Ben said happily and then hugged Jacen tightly.

"Goodnight. No nightmares." Ben warned lightly as he headed to his own bunk.

"Promise. Night little guy." Jacen said fondly and curled up and drifted off to the first restful sleep he'd had in a while.

XX

Lumiya and her escort made good time, and managed to arrive before Krayt and Vongerella. Lumiya looked at the Sith Meditation Sphere she had found on Ziost as her shuttle landed in the hangar or the Home, a dark side asteroid and former home to Sith Lord Darth Vectivus. She had flown it home after discovering it in an ancient tomb, and it had lamented about the lack of so many dark siders. The ship was curiously sentient, and said it recognised many little darknesses. One it said was her. He, at least she assumed it was a he, had said he also sensed two more darknesses in beings bearing his flame. She took that to mean Mara Jade Skywalker and her son Ben. He said he could also feel a rising darkness, which to Lumiya's great distaste had to be Krayt's group on Korriban. And the other one he could feel he said had a strangely alien feel to it, which she took to be Vongerella. She had intended to fly it more frequently but for the last few years she had been busy laying the foundations for her plan in order to take over the galaxy and bring it back under Sith rule.

"What are these my lady?" Vessery asked as the red guards took up positions at each of the four doors to the common room.

Lumiya looked at her colonel and saw that he was pointing at three pyramid shaped articles on the central desk.

"They are Sith holocrons. The holocron of the Sith King Adas, the holocron of Darth Phobos, and the holocron of Darth Cognus. Krayt has more and I intend to get them off him when he arrives." She said confidently.

The four pilots and guards would not be much of a match for the other two Sith if things came to a fight, but she didn't think they would. And if it did come to a fight between her and Krayt, she was actually hoping that Vongerella would side with her former master rather than the blasphemer Krayt.

"My lady, there is a cruiser coming out of hyperspace. It's massive!" one of her pilots said.

"Well Colonel, let us go and see what sort of ship Lord Krayt uses as his personal transport." Lumiya said, beckoning Vessery through to the viewing dome.

And she blanched as the ship came flashing out of lightspeed. It was a Super Star Destroyer, _Executor_ class, just like Vader's flagship had been, along with Isard and Zsinj, and it slowed and Lumiya was left of a view of its enormous midsection. Nineteen kilometres worth of Star Destroyer. Krayt was a flash git if nothing else.

"What the hell?" Vessery demanded as his mistress recovered.

Lumiya hissed through her teeth. Now she was profoundly glad that she had sent Tavira to try and find more ships, and that she would have the _Dominion_ when it came to the final battle. Otherwise her fleet would be flattened.

"Now where did he get that I wonder?" she asked herself musingly.

"Well it isn't brand new. The last SSD like that was the _Guardian_, and the Alliance has that. And it isn't part of Pellaeon's new program. Look, it still has nine main engines. Everything after the First Battle of Coruscant had had sixteen engines, like the _Dominion _and the _Megador_." Vessery said, pointing them out.

Lumiya frowned. This was most unexpected. Where the hell had Krayt got it? And more to the point why was he risking its exposure by using it to come to a meeting like this?

"Most intriguing." She said to herself as the SSD, marked as the _Sith Dragon_ stabilised itself in orbit around the Home, and a _Lambda_ class shuttle like the two she had in her own hangar was en route to the moon.

"My lady, another ship is coming out of hyperspace." The pilot called through, and the _Dark Emissary_, Vongerella's flagship, shot out of hyperspace and sidled up beside the _Sith Dragon_.

Lumiya frowned out at the scene. If things did result in a fight, they were in severe trouble. A yorik-trema disengaged from the miid ro'ik cruiser and headed for the hangar, a little behind Krayt's shuttle.

"Send two of the guards to escort them to me. And get us some brandy. I think I'm going to need it." Lumiya said as she headed through, steeling herself for the conference.

XX

The conference so far had been very interesting. Lumiya had informed them of her plan, and Krayt and Vongerella both agreed that it had merit. Lumiya also got the range of Krayt at least. He wanted her plan to succeed...so that he could then take the throne himself. He was a usurper, nothing more.

But, the usurper had brought gifts, so she could live with it at the moment. He had found the holocron of Darth Andeddu, and he had offered it to her freely as a gift, and he had traded her the holocron of Tulak Hord for several of her dark side books that she had assembled over the years.

The conference had gone as expected by the time it had reached its end. While Vongerella did have her own aims, she did still have some loyalty to Lumiya. As such, she had reluctantly agreed to the plan, as she was the necessary part from which their return to prominence would be secured. While they did that, Krayt would also back up Vongerella's fleet along with Lumiya's and enable for the Sith takeover to take effect. Krayt had agreed because it would mean that the Sith would take back the galaxy years before he had planned to succeed. Lumiya knew full well that she was setting herself up for a betrayal, but it did not matter. She had their support and that was what mattered. She had affirmed their loyalty to the plan, at least for the moment, and that meant she was free to focus on other things. They approved her plan, but she had only told them enough to keep them intrigued and keep them believing that it would succeed, so they could not immediately shaft her, as Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus had once done to Darth Traya. And even they had to admire the cold streak running throughout her plan. They thought it would be delicious when it finally became time to act on what she wanted, and Lumiya herself had little doubt she would succeed in her plan.

After all, she had been watching them closely for years. And she knew that she had a fertile ground for her seeds to grow when she began to make her play.

Krayt had expressed concern that their eventual takeover would take too long, but Lumiya had soothed him, saying that was what the intermediaries were for. And she had several highly placed intermediaries. Some of whom she would be contacting as soon as she got rid of her guests.

"I must say it is a brilliant plan Lady Lumiya. But aside from telling us the Sith will one day rule the galaxy once more, you haven't told Vongerella and I what will become of us after your takeover." Krayt pointed out.

Lumiya smiled beneath her veil. He was canny, Krayt was. He was trying to figure out what her eventual betrayal was, and out of the two others in the room, he knew that if someone was going to cop it, it would be him and his heretical order.

"I am not totally unreasonable Lord Krayt. After the battle is over and the galaxy is firmly under our control once more, I am quite willing to allow your faction to remain as a sort of new Jedi Order. You would become responsible for the day to day peace of our new empire." She purred.

Krayt nodded.

"That will do...for now. We shall discuss more closer to the time." He said, then looked at Vongerella curiously.

"And what will you get out of this my esteemed colleague?" he asked, the sneer in his voice letting both Lumiya and Vongerella know she was anything but esteemed.

"The benefits I will get are of no concern of yours pretender." Vongerella sneered, and Lumiya smiled.

She may not be her apprentice anymore, but she had just delivered the same catty response she'd have come out with. Krayt narrowed his eyes at her in dislike.

"Very well then. We have an agreement." He said, and both he and Vongerella conjured lightning, which coalesced around Lumiya's outstretched metallic arm, and she smiled.

"Marvellous. Come, I will walk you out." She said and they swept from the lounge, her red guards remaining alert.

"How do you know Skywalker will perform as you expect?" Vongerella asked.

"You forget my former apprentice, I used to date him. I know how the naive fool works. He will perform to my specifications." She soothed.

Krayt however looked worried as they headed for the turbolift to take them to the hangar.

"But what about this threat within the Maw? The mysterious that we have all felt. Would not we be better trying to control and understand it?" he asked.

Lumiya shook her head.

"No we wouldn't. Whatever this thing is, it is very serious. Serious enough that the Skywalkers and their kin are even considering even allying with a Sith. As such, anything that bad surely cannot be controlled." She said, and though she hated to admit it, whatever this threat was it gave her goosebumps...a remarkable feat when she had no organic limbs.

"Perhaps. But what if you fall to this mysterious threat? What if we all fall, but it is still stopped, and the Jedi survive?" he asked as the lift descended.

Lumiya smiled tightly.

"Do not worry Krayt. There are other avenues to return the dark side to power." She said soothingly.

After all, the plan did have a failsafe, that only she knew about. If she did fall, and as Krayt had pointed out, it was a possibility, then there was another way for victory to be achieved.

Krayt and Vongerella both looked at her curiously, but before they could demand an answer the lift arrived.

"Oh, Lord Krayt, I thought you ought to know...there is a Jedi travelling with Luke. An old friend of yours I am led to believe." She said as they stepped out.

"Indeed? And who might that be? I thought your masters had wiped them all out." He said, and Lumiya was interested to note the feeling of bitterness he felt.

"A Whiphid by the name of K'kruhk..." Lumiya said softly, and Krayt stopped, a grin forming on his face.

"Really? Now that is interesting. I may have to get reacquainted with him." He said gloatingly.

"Lord Krayt, as a thank you for your gift, I grant you this Sith Meditation Sphere as a loan." She said, indicating Ship as they reached the line of ships.

Krayt smiled. Lumiya was irritated that she had to get it out of here, but she couldn't have it lying around when her future allies came calling. And as she didn't trust Vongerella not to let her Shapers experiment with it, it had to go to Krayt.

"You are most kind Lumiya." He said, but the lack of any title in her name let her know he did not think that at all.

"It is no trouble. Now, I suggest you both get out of here. Destiny is on the move." She said, and both of them bowed, Vongerella a proper bow from master to apprentice, but Krayt only gave a nod of his head, like one equal to another.

Presumptuous fool.

"And next time I call a meeting Lord Krayt, try and have the sense not to turn up in an SSD. They tend to attract attention." Lumiya hissed, and Krayt just smiled at her ire and motioned for his pilot to take the shuttle back to the SSD, while he flew out on Ship.

"He will betray us." Vongerella sneered.

"I know he will. And I don't like the idea that he has Ship, but I didn't have much choice but to give him it. Not to worry. No matter what he does, unless he talks to the Jedi, which he won't, all plays into my hands." She said confidently.

"As you say master." Vongerella said, but there was something in her voice that Lumiya did not quite like, something that she couldn't quite place.

"Now you had best get out of here too. I have more guests coming. However, I have something to ask of you." She said, knowing that if she just ordered it, Vongerella would refuse.

After all, Lumiya had cast her out, she hadn't left. She had to be treated as something of an equal...even if she was still the apprentice.

"Hmm, I'm interested. Does it involve Krayt?" she asked, and Lumiya smiled.

Her former apprentice didn't like the other Sith any more than she did.

"No. But as Skywalker will show up soon, I need a way to engender trust quickly. Not to get them to trust me, or accept me, but tolerate me, and the quicker I can do that the better." Lumiya explained.

"What would you like me to do?" Vongerella asked curiously.

"I want you to hide until I give the word...and then attack the _Millennium Falcon_." Lumiya said simply.

Vongerella's plaeryin bol widened in surprise.

"Are you mad? If I do that, Zonama Sekot will be destroyed...which does not sit well with me." Vongerella growled.

Lumiya studied her former apprentice. Vongerella was up to something...but the species unfortunate blankness to the Force even extended to her. She couldn't get a read on her. Which was slightly troublesome.

"No it won't. Firstly, you will have to something which makes it clear that you are a rogue shall we say, who did not follow the Sekot Accords. For that, you will need to use a comm, you can get one from over there. Secondly, if it feels threatened, Zonama Sekot will move further into the Unknown Regions. As a result, A'kla and Niathal will not be able to amass a fleet to go through there without the approval of the Chiss, who are still irritated with the Alliance over the Killik Crisis and because a trade deal turned sour a few months ago. Your species will be quite safe."

Lumiya knew now that it was wise to have kept something from the other two Sith. Otherwise, Vongerella would happily blast her out of the sky if she agreed. But as Lumiya knew more than she had told, she needed her former master alive. Lumiya knew she was playing a risky game, but it would be worth it if it would speed things up a bit.

"Very well, I will do it, and take your blasted machine." She growled, then looked at her teacher curiously.

"But what justification do I give?" she asked.

"You were the lover of Onimi. As the truth became known later, it is obvious what justification you give. You want revenge for his death. Also, as Luke and Jaina will also be there, and they murdered Shimrra and Tsavong Lah, you have more than ample reason for an attack." She said, and Vongerella smiled.

"As you will it master, it shall be done." She said, giving a not-quite-a-bow, and heading for her ship.

Lumiya smiled. All was going according to plan. Aside from the little revelation that Krayt had managed to get an SSD from somewhere. A presumptuous fool he may be, but he wasn't stupid, even if he was a blasphemer. He knew that by bringing the _Sith Dragon_ he would tip the tenuous balance of power between the three Sith slightly in his favour...as far as they knew.

But that didn't mean she could let it slide that he had one. And if he had an SSD from somewhere, and she had heard no reports of any ships going missing, it had to have gone missing years ago. So where did it come from?

Intent on finding out, she swept towards the holo room.

XX

On Bastion, in the palace that had once belonged to the treacherous Moff Disra before Pellaeon had had him shot for treason, two Moffs chinked glasses together.

"It is a small victory, but a victory all the same. Our economy is currently stronger than the Alliance's. We can use that to try and lure planets to us." Moff Quille said triumphantly.

The two of them had pushed the Moff Council, and Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon into accepting an aid package for nearby Alliance worlds with struggling economies. To Pellaeon and his supporters, like Saretti, it would appear they were being neighbourly. In reality, they were hoping to be paid back by the thankful planets joining with the Empire.

"And even better Pellaeon didn't suspect a thing." Lecersen scoffed.

He had been a supporter of Pellaeon up until a few years ago, when he began to see what Quille, and the faction he leaded, saw. Pellaeon was getting old and would not live forever. After the Second Corellian Insurrection, their leader had had a chance to increase Imperial authority within the Alliance and the wider galaxy, and he hadn't taken it, for reasons unknown. And so, Lecersen had thrown his lot in with Quille.

But he couldn't quite shake the feeling that Pellaeon had known what he was doing, but it was too late now. Especially as disobedience would only be met by death at this crucial juncture.

A couple of months after Centerpoint was destroyed, a holo had come before Quille and Lecersen, and they had recognised her as Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith. She had promised them a return to Imperial dominance. And they had taken her up on her offer, with her promises of a return to power keeping them as warm at nights as their credit supplies did.

Lecersen was about to say something when Quille's aid shot in, looking flustered.

"How dare you intrude boy! I told you we were not to be disturbed!" Quille roared.

"A thousand pardons my lords, but the secure comm channel is flashing purple." He said worriedly.

Quille and Lecersen looked at each other. That frequency was only known to one person...Lumiya.

"Display it at once." Lecersen ordered hastily.

Lumiya's holo flickered to life before them, and they both inclined their heads in respectful greeting.

"Moff Quille, Moff Lecersen...you will be relieved to know that all is going well. Soon now, the plan shall begin, and in a short while, the Empire will be restored and your faith will be rewarded." She purred in greeting.

"This is good news my lady." Lecersen said.

"Indeed. However, I find myself in need of information. Do you remember the Criton's Point Shipyard?" she asked, getting right down to business.

The shipyard had been built in secret by Moff Disra to secretly manufacture additional ships for his Braxant Sector Fleet. When Pellaeon had had him shot, he had removed it from all records and had activated it after the destruction of Sernpidal. It had been churning out ships, ISDs and above for the largest part of the Vong War, until the invaders had attacked the Remnant. It had then mysteriously vanished, and people thought to this day that it had not in fact been the Vong who had been responsible for its disappearance.

"Yes it vanished, why?" Quille asked.

"Because I suspect I know what truly happened to it. I need to know how large it was, what it had on it when it disappeared, what it could churn out over a seventeen year period...all of it." She said.

"You seek to use it for our plan?" Quille asked, and while Lumiya's eyes flashed at the word 'our', she seemed content to answer the question.

"No. I think it may already be doing that in its own way. That is what I need the information for. I need to find out that if it does exist, it can be used to serve 'our' ends." She said, neither moff picking up on the way she said 'our'.

"As you wish my lady." They said, bowing to her.

"Very good gentlemen. Send the information to General Wethen. All will turn out for the best, I can promise you that." She said, and flickered out.

Quille smiled.

"We are getting close. I can feel it." He said excitedly.

"Indeed. A toast, to the return of the Empire!" Lecersen said triumphantly, and they clinked glasses.

XX

Lumiya smiled. The moffs were greedy fools, and they would do exactly as she wished. They were quite easy to control. But they too were simply part of a larger plan.

Now, she had to send Vessery and her guards away. She had to maintain the appearance of a harmless old lady. Not that Luke would believe it. Tavira had better be doing what she was told to do, she thought irritably as she went to send the others back to the fleet.

Then, she felt it. A bright burning light approaching the Home from afar.

"Skywalker is coming." She said with a grin.

At long last, the plan was on the move.

XX

The ship dropped out of lightspeed to see the dark side infused asteroid floating in front of them.

"That place reeks with the dark side." Mara said in disgust from the seat behind Leia.

"Trust you lot to take us to such a nice place on this tour of ours." Han said sarcastically.

Luke, in the seat behind Han, closed his eyes and reached out with the Force.

"She's there." He said confidently, feeling the long absent presence of Lumiya.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Leia said, as K'kruhk joined them in the cockpit.

"I know you do. We all do. But it is sadly necessary. Take us in Captain Solo." K'kruhk said, peering out at the Home.

"Well there doesn't seem to be any weapons. So I'll take us in. Slowly." Han said worriedly.

The _Falcon_ barely fit into the hangar that was on the middle of the asteroid. The only other ship present was an old _Lambda_ class shuttle that had probably been around when Lumiya had been starting the Nagai-Tof War.

"Well, we made it. Can we just pretend she isn't in and go home?" Han asked hopefully, picking up his blaster.

"Sadly we can't. Come on." Luke said, and le the way from the ship.

The kids and the droids joined them as they left the ship.

"Oh, no one to meet us." Threepio said in surprise.

"She's making us start off in a position of weakness. It means we are seen to be coming to her for help. If she met us, she'd lose the political high ground." Leia said irritably, taking her saber off her belt.

"I don't think that is wise Princess. If we want her help, appearing with sabers in hand isn't the way to go about it." K'kruhk advised and he beckoned them onwards, while Leia scowled.

"I'm still keeping my blaster out." Han said defiantly, and K'kruhk rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Strange...I feel a presence I've not felt since..." K'kruhk said musingly, then shook the notion.

They set on, Artoo making fearful noises. Leia looked at Jacen in concern, and he looked as though he was trying to keep his breakfast down.

"It'll be alright honey." She soothed.

"Tell that to my stomach." He said, sounding sick, and she patted his belly like she would when the kids were little.

"Mom, I don't like the feel of this place..." Ben moaned, sticking close to his mother.

"Neither do I Ben sweetie. Neither do I." She said fearfully.

"I don't like this..." Jaina said as they came to a turbolift.

"Me neither. She's just waiting for us to get in...then she'll deactivate it and it will plummet to the bottom and we'll be crushed into mulch." Han said, looking at the lift in worry.

"Thanks for that dad, I feel so much better now." Jaina said irritably.

"Don't give her ideas for goodness sake." Luke said, and took the leap of faith and entered the lift first.

When he did not immediately drop out of sight, they all crushed in and, unlike what Han feared, it rose towards the top of the asteroid.

"So far so good." K'kruhk commented as the lift arrived, and they stepped into a narrow corridor.

"Yes Master K'kruhk...unless she has an E-Web blaster waiting for us at the end of the corridor." Threepio moaned, and Artoo moaned again.

"We'll have to take that chance Threepio." Luke said, but he made sure Ben and Mara were behind Han and K'kruhk for protection before he headed along.

The door opened, and Luke strode into the lounge, and the others followed him in and followed a long line and looked across the room. Lumiya sat, at ease, on the couch, sipping a cup of tea and smiling at them.

"Luke Skywalker." She purred, malice in her voice.

"Lumiya." He said in greeting, his voice thick with dislike.

"It has been some time has it not? And you as well Mara...I am honoured. You think I warrant both Masters Skywalker?" she asked coyly, her pencilled eyebrow raising.

"Lumiya." Mara growled.

Lumiya smiled as she turned her attention to Han and Leia.

"And both Solos as well? Captain Solo...and Princess Leia." She said, inclining her head, and did not look at all bothered by the fact that Han's blaster was pointed at her.

She got to her feet, and they all tensed. She however didn't seem to worry and walked over to them, and smiled. She had seen the others.

"Jacen Solo...curious. The darkness that was once inside you is oddly diminished. But I sense much fear in you...not fear of me, or of the dark side...but what you could become...interesting." she said softly, raising her hand to Jacen.

Jacen glowered at her and took a step back, tapping the hilt of his lightsaber to demonstrate that she should keep her hand to herself. Lumiya smiled and turned to Jaina.

"Jaina Solo also. There is still darkness in you, and it is growing strengthened by your frustrations...with the situation, with your boyfriend..." Lumiya said, and Jaina glared.

"Mind your own business Lumiya." She snarled.

Lumiya laughed lightly, then her eyes turned to Ben.

"And young Ben...you have many of your mother's qualities..." she whispered, leaving the comment hanging in the air, and Ben glowered, but moved a little closer to Jacen as he did so.

"The next generation of thorns in the side of the Sith..." she said, taking a step towards them.

She was then blocked off by Mara and Leia, both glowering at her.

"Back off Lumiya." Mara warned, her hand on her saber hilt.

"Oh my...Mara and Leia...reduced to being overprotective mommies." She said in cold delight, and she headed back to sit down, ignoring K'kruhk and the droids, the droids at least seeming relieved.

She sat and looked up at K'kruhk.

"Hmm, Master K'kruhk unless I am much mistaken. If memory serves, Lord Vader always said that you were still alive, and that you were one of the Jedi he should have made sure was dead long before the Rebellion came along. You escaped him twice if memory serves. He never quite got over that." She said, smiling evilly.

"I am indeed K'kruhk." He said, inclining his head.

Lumiya took a sip of her tea from beneath her veil again.

"Now, as you did not arrive with sabers drawn...I assume you want me for something." She said, and K'kruhk stepped forward.

Lumiya's hand went to the whip coiled at her waist, but he only showed her a datapad, and she allowed him to give it to her.

"Unfortunately Lumiya...we apparently need your help." Luke said, as though even saying the words left a horrid taste in his mouth.

"Truly? I see." She said as she read through the file K'kruhk had assembled on Abeloth.

As she read it, she saw what they were truly dealing with when they were going after Abeloth. And she didn't like it one little bit.

"That doesn't sound good." She commented.

"We can agree on that much then? There's progress." Ben said, and Jacen elbowed him to keep him quiet, but couldn't quite suppress a grin.

Lumiya was also quite shocked to find herself smiling at the boy's sarcasm. He would be...entertaining to say the least. She looked at them all, her four oldest enemies eyes set in hate, their three kids filled with mistrust, and the Whiphid looking at her calculatingly.

"I think as reasonable beings we can all assume that this Abeloth is a threat to us all. So you think that a force of Jedi and Sith will be able to stop her?" she queried.

"I believe so yes. Although it pains me to ask this...will you help us?" K'kruhk asked.

Lumiya looked at them slowly.

"A threat against the entire Force, the Jedi..._and_ the Sith? Damn right I will. I don't want this thing destroying the galaxy. There is no victory in such things is there Luke?" she asked, and Luke reluctantly nodded.

"Agreed. So, do we have a deal?" he asked, stepping forward, but always keeping one hand on his saber.

"We do indeed." She said, standing up and keeping one hand on her whip as they shook hands.

They looked into each other's eyes as they did so, and Lumiya smiled.

"Just like old times eh Luke?" she asked playfully, and Luke blushed and immediately dropped her hand.

"Look Lumiya..." Mara growled, but Lumiya had turned away from her and was behind the couch.

"Here Han, take this." She said, and handed him a box full of leather straps and crystal shards.

"What's this?" he asked, reluctantly putting away his blaster as he took the box.

"Extras for my lightwhip. Jacen, Ben, could you be dears and take these boxes?" she asked hopefully.

Jacen and Ben looked to their mothers, who nodded. After all, Lumiya was getting on, as she had a couple of years on the two of them. And they wanted Lumiya where they could see them with her hands empty if at all possible.

"Are these arms?" Ben demanded as he took his box, full of metallic arms.

"Yes Ben. You see, I tend to lose my limbs rather a lot around your father." She said bitterly, and Luke glowered at her.

"I knew something like that was coming up." He said.

"Then you weren't disappointed." She said and picked up her case.

Luke and K'kruhk then leapt the room and landed in front of her, their green lightsabers at her throat. Lumiya took a step back and hissed.

"Betraying our alliance already are we?" she asked angrily.

"That case has Sith holocrons within it. I can sense it." K'kruhk growled angrily.

"You aren't bringing them aboard." Luke said.

Lumiya looked at him stonily.

"Indeed? But that report you gave me indicates that this Abeloth has dangerous powers. Some could very well be Sith in nature. And I have a fair few holocrons that could be useful. Don't you think we should understand our enemy before we get ourselves into trouble?" she purred, knowing that she could defeat them by simple logic.

Luke looked at K'kruhk, whose eyes faltered a little, and Luke reluctantly shut his blade down.

"Alright, you win." He said grimly.

"Splendid. Shall we?" she asked, indicating the door.

XX

The ship left the hangar, and the air was tense. Han and Leia were in the cockpit. K'kruhk had taken Lumiya to the bunk beneath his, so that if she tried anything, Luke, Mara, he and Leia were on hand to stop her. She had simply smiled. Ben and Jacen had went into the galley to get away from her, while Luke, Mara and Jaina put the holocrons she had brought in the forward cargo hold.

Lumiya smiled as K'kruhk headed to the cockpit. Going into the Force, she felt Vongerella a little bit away.

_Now!_

XX

Han and Leia were tense as Han took the ship away from the Home.

"That was too easy. And she was already packed. So what don't we know?" he asked worriedly.

Leia looked grim, and her face was an uncharacteristic scowl.

"I don't know. She's already up to something. Maybe she felt Abeloth and figured out we would come to her. But that doesn't make me feel any better." She said, then frowned as she felt a dark pulse of warning.

"That doesn't feel good..." she said.

XX

Jacen was feeling a little better now that they were away from the Home.

"You're looking a bit more normal." Ben said, looking at his cousin worriedly.

"I'm ok Ben. It just made me a bit sick being there, that's all."

"Why? Because of all the dark side power...or because of Caedus?" he asked compassionately, and Jacen smiled proudly at him.

"You're becoming very wise you know." He said, and Ben grinned.

"Really?" he asked happily.

"Yeah..." he said, cutting off as he felt a strange presence he had not felt in years.

"Jacen?" Ben asked worriedly.

"Vong." Jacen said in amazement, and he ran to the cockpit.

XX

Jacen arrived in the cockpit just as Leia turned to Han.

"We need to get out of here now." They said in unison, and Han looked at them, creeped out.

"Oh, I hate it when you two do that!" he moaned.

"What's going on?" Lumiya asked as she entered.

"What are you doing here?" Han demanded as he started getting the ship ready for lightspeed.

"I am not going to stay in my room all the time Solo, so don't even think I will. I am not some child. Your own children and nephew would tell you to get stuffed if you tried to incarcerate them. I won't be quite as polite. Let us set some ground rules...I can walk around the ship if I please. If you want to stop me getting off on planets for the duration of this mission, fair enough. But I refuse to stay in one room." She growled, and Han jerked his head irritably in agreement.

"Dad, go, now!" Jacen intoned.

"Too late." Luke said as he too entered.

Then a Yuuzhan Vong Miid Ro'ik Cruiser dropped out of lightspeed.

"What the hell? That's a Yuuzhan Vong Destroyer!" Han yelled in panic.

"What the hell is it doing here?" Lumiya demanded furiously, although she secretly knew full well.

"And more to the point where did it come from? All of them were meant to be destroyed at the Sekot Accords!" Jacen said furiously.

"Well they won't catch us. Hit it sweetheart!" he ordered, and Leia pulled the lever to take them to lightspeed.

There was then a sound like the engine failing. Han went pale, as Leia, Luke and Jacen glowered at him.

"It's not my fault!" he protested.

"Ben, fix the hyperdrive!" Luke yelled.

"Is it knackered again?" he demanded irritably.

"YES!" Jacen called, drowning out Han's 'no'.

"Dovin basals are coming up to act as interdictors. We're going nowhere unless this thing is as fast as you say Solo...and if Ben is as good at fixing things as his father is at wrecking them." Lumiya sneered as she sat behind Han.

"Quiet you." Luke said, taking the seat behind Leia.

The comm then crackled.

"Attention _Millennium Falcon_. This is the True Yuuzhan Vong Cruiser, the _Dark Emissary_. It has come to my attention that aboard are the ones who forced my people into defeat. That wrong will be righted. You carry the murderers of Shimrra and Tsavong Lah aboard, and also the killer of my lover, the true Supreme Overlord, Onimi! Stand down and prepare to be boarded." A female voice commanded.

"Not a chance lady. Since when did Vong use normal comms?" Han asked.

"They're deploying coralskippers." Luke said worriedly as Mara showed up.

"We gotta hold them off! Here we go again." Han said and gunned the engines, as the large cruiser opened fire with its cannons.

"Jaina, gun turrets, now!" Jacen yelled as he ran back to the gunwell, and they could hear Jaina running through as well.

"This isn't working. Artoo get down here!" they heard Ben yell, and Artoo beeped as he went to join him.

"I hate going places with you Han." Mara said irritably as the cannons fired again.

"This happens often around him?" Lumiya asked in concern.

The ship then blazed forward as a squadron of coralskippers flew after them, their plasma cannons firing away at them. Han accelerated the ship away from them, and the fight was on. Jacen and Jaina opened up with the cannons, blasting away at the skips. However, their basals simply absorbed the blasts, and they could hear the twins curse as Han rolled the ship to avoid a blast from the cruiser. The space around them was filled with plasma as the cruiser fired at them, trying to blow them apart. Han cursed as a blast rocked the back of the ship.

"Sorry, missed him!" Jaina cried sheepishly.

"Use the Force young one. Focus." K'kruhk said as he went to the bottom of the gun ladder.

"Master K'kruhk, what is going on?" Threepio asked as he joined him.

A heavy blast then hit the back of the ship, and both K'kruhk and Threepio were thrown towards the back of the ship with a cry.

"They're launching another squadron." Lumiya hissed angrily.

"Not good. Heads up kids!" Han cried as another plasma burst exploded in front of them.

"I could use some help!" Ben yelled.

"We're a little busy at the moment!" K'kruhk wailed as Han rolled the ship and they heard him and Threepio slam against another bulkhead.

"OUCH!" the Jedi yelled.

Jacen grimaced as the skips came closer, and he fired several blasts in union with his sister. Their blasts caught one skip and it was finally ripped apart.

"Yes, got one!" Jacen cried triumphantly.

"Great kid, don't get cocky!" Luke called back as he analysed the gravity field the cruiser was creating.

"Whoa, flashback." Leia said, and Han grinned widely as he evaded another cannon blast form the cruiser.

"Will you cut it out with the fancy flying? Ben, Artoo and I aren't miracle workers!" Mara yelled angrily from the maintenance hatch.

"It's either that or we get pulverised!" Lumiya yelled back.

"Well keep the ship still and we might not!" Mara sniped.

The ship corkscrewed upwards, and Jaina and Jacen both gave a whoop of victory as another two coralskippers were blown apart.

"You do know that we can't win?" Lumiya asked as a skip flew past the viewport, its plasma cannon blasting at the ships' shields.

"If you're on this ship you need to have positive thinking." Luke said angrily, as he made the final touches.

"And a lot of faith." Leia said, earning a dirty look from her husband.

Several blasts, one from the cruiser as well, rocked the ship.

"How are we doing up there?" K'kruhk asked as Han put on the brakes and allowed the skips to shoot over them, to be blown up by the twins.

"We're getting there, give us more time!" Mara called irritably as Han went evasive again.

"Well hurry. Han, when we get hyperdrive back, we're going to have to move fast." Luke said.

"Where's my fleet when I need it?" Lumiya grumbled.

"Where is your fleet anyway?" Leia asked as the cruiser fired several blasts at them, which the ship barely avoided.

"Destroyed during the Vong War." Lumiya replied as the ship rolled away from another attack.

The cruiser fired again and this time a few bits of metal came off. Jacen and Jaina continued to pound away with their cannons, and there were still noises of irritation from the hatch where Mara was working.

"Give us better targets dad!" Jaina yelled irritably.

"I'll just call them and ask them to line up will I?" Han asked grumpily.

"The cruiser is getting closer Solo." Lumiya warned as a heavy blast hit the back of the ship and something exploded.

"That didn't sound good." Luke said, and saw that no matter what they did the gravity field was too large.

"Help, I think I'm melting!"Threepio cried from somewhere aft.

"The cruiser is coming towards us. This lady wants us dead." Lumiya said as the cruiser and its skips accelerated after them, while Han weaved in and out of the plasma blasts that were firing at them.

"How many squadrons do these things have again?" Jacen asked as they took down another skip.

"Nine if I remember rightly." Jaina answered as she took down another one.

"Damn it." Jacen said, blasting another one apart.

"Turn us around." Leia said.

"What, are you crazy? You want to fly _into_ the throng of Vong ships?" Lumiya screeched.

"Just turn us around." She ordered.

"Leia, do you know the odds of surviving a direct run on a Vong cruiser?" Luke demanded.

"Shut up!" Leia snapped.

"What are you planning?" Han asked as she rolled the ship around and levelled out, heading back towards the cruiser, the quad lasers pounding.

However the cruiser had them directly in its sights, and a blast rocked the front of the ship, and alarms started blaring.

"Shields are gone." Lumiya reported, and the skips, as if hearing her, came in low and punched two holes in the hull.

"Power to engines!" Luke snapped, and they did so and the ship accelerated, but the cruiser was bearing down on them.

"Funny...this worked better at Hoth." Leia said sheepishly, and she fired a missile from the hold.

"What? At Hoth it was a Star Destroyer!" Han yelled as the skips came flying at them.

The twins were blasting away, and the missile was of no use as it was simply absorbed by the dovin basals.

"Dad, do we have any hydrogen on board?" Jacen cried.

"What, you thinking the old _Sunulok_ trick?" Han called back.

"The _Sunulok_?" Lumiya asked in confusion.

"Don't ask. No we don't honey." Leia called worriedly, and another blast from the cruiser made acrid smoke start filling the cockpit, making them cough.

"Dad, we're going to get pulverised! Aunt Mara, fix the bloody hyperdrive!" Jaina screeched.

"We need to remain level long enough for us to link up the power couplings! I've tried using the Force but it isn't working, because we keep getting rocked around! And something is burning down here!" Mara yelled, her voice rising in panic.

"Mom, you're on fire!" Ben shouted in surprise.

"Oh hell." She cursed.

Jacen and Jaina blasted another couple of skips, but they knew it was no good. They were going to be pulverised if they stayed out here much longer.

"Wait a minute, she wants us alive right?" Ben asked as she smothered the flames on his mother's sleeve.

"Yes. But short of flying into her hangar I don't see what good that will accomplish." Lumiya said.

"Well the ship's beat up. What if we make them think we've left the ship then jump to hyperspace?" Ben asked.

"This lady isn't stupid son. She probably won't fall for it. Besides, we still have the gravity field to worry about." Luke said as another blast rocked the ship and there was a sound of electrics breaking and metal plates falling off.

"Wait! Young Ben has a point!" K'kruhk said, looking as if he'd been dragged through a hedge as he stuck his head into the cockpit.

"You reckon?" Leia asked as another blast hit the ship and something went flying off the front of the ship.

"Yes, I did something similar during the Yinchorri Uprising. Young Ben, come with me! Captain Solo, we need a couple of missiles, so do not fire any!" he called and Ben leapt up from the hatch and followed K'kruhk forward.

"Good luck son!" Luke called as the skips came flying in at them for the kill.

Jaina and Jacen pounded away with the cannons, clipping two fighters and sending them spiralling out of control. Another ship came at them and Jaina blasted it out of existence.

"Hurry!" she yelled as another plasma blast gouged a chunk from the bottom of the ship.

"Hurry my boy." K'kruhk said as he and Ben disengaged a couple of inactive missiles from the missile rack.

"You sure this will work?" Ben asked.

"It was your plan my lad. Have faith." He advised as he hefted his missile onto his shoulder.

"Hold her steady!" Mara screamed as she and Artoo urgently tried to fix the hyperdrive.

Skips came buzzing in at them, their plasma cannons melting holes in the armour.

"We have a decompression." Lumiya said worriedly and headed aft to fix it.

"Captain Solo, we're doomed!" Threepio wailed, sounding muffled.

"Han let us get hit!" K'kruhk called as he and Ben pulled up the hatches to the escape pods.

Another blast rocked the ship, and Luke winced as the sensor dish flew off.

"Yes just like that!" he called cheerily.

"Want to tell him I didn't plan that?" Han asked half-heartedly as another blast rocked the ships.

"They've launched more skips. She must have really loved Onimi!" Leia said in disdain as more skips came off of the cruiser and came hurtling towards them.

Lumiya came back, looking worried.

"That won't hold for long. We need to get out of here."

"Alright, keep your veil on, we're working on it." Han grumbled as he weaved, but he too was worried.

The ship had sustained damage and it was slowing down, and they still had no hyperdrive. That was just typical.

"Dad, there's fires coming up on top of us!" Jacen yelled down as he shot down another skip.

Jaina frowned as fires erupted on her side of the ship too.

"Got them here too!" she called up worriedly.

"This hunk of junk is never going to get us out of here." Lumiya snarled.

"I've been saying stuff like that for years." Leia said wearily, and Han glared at her.

"Right Ben, is the missile primed?" K'kruhk asked as he sealed the escape pod he had been working on.

"Yep. I take it we use the Force to fire them off?" Ben asked.

"Yes. Let them hit us again!" K'kruhk called, and he was obliged.

"Cheers!"

"Didn't plan that either!" Han called back.

"Now!"

The two escape pods armed with missiles were jettisoned by use of the Force, and Han let the ship slide downwards as if there was no one at the controls. The pods were drifting towards the _Dark Emissary_, and were being drawn towards it.

"Jacen, Jaina, when I give the word, fire on those pods. Mara, are we good to go?" Luke called.

"Just a bit more..." she said in a strained voice.

Ben and K'kruhk, their job done, came to the cockpit and watched as the skips pulled away from them and headed back to the cruiser.

"It's working." Lumiya said in surprise.

"It worked on the Yinchorri too." K'kruhk said reminiscently.

"Bet you didn't try and blow them up though?" Luke asked with a grin, and tensed as the pods got closer to the cruiser.

"Get ready you pair." He warned.

"Hyperdrive is as fixed as it's going to get! We can go anytime!" Mara called suggestively, and Han looked.

They were a little bit out from the edge of the gravity field, and the pods were nearly close enough to blind the cruiser while they made their escape. Sweat beaded on his brow, while Leia pursed her lips anxiously. Luke closed his eyes, ready to give the signal for the twins to fire. Lumiya was anxiously tapping the armrest with her metallic fingers. Ben looked to K'kruhk nervously, and he gave him a wink.

"NOW!" Luke yelled, and Jacen and Jaina fired.

The laser blasts ripped apart two of the ship's three escape pods, and the resulting explosion, aided and abetted by the missile within, flared in front of the cruiser and bathed it in flame. Smoke rose from its rocky surface and the ship wobbled as the blast hit it.

"Gun it!" Leia barked and the ship accelerated onwards, away from the cruiser.

Han blasted the ship forward and the skips struggled to recover from the unexpected blast of light that had scrambled them. The ship reached the edge of the gravity field and Han gave a whoop of victory.

"Yes, we did it!" he cheered, and pulled the lever and the _Falcon_ shot into hyperspace.

XX

Vongerella smiled. They had put up a good fight.

"They escaped my lady." One warrior said.

"They were meant to. Recall the coralskippers and set course to the rest of the fleet. Now that we have announced ourselves to the Solos, we can begin our plans. Marvellous. Set a course for the _Baanu Venxis_ and have my commanders assemble when we arrive." She ordered and swept from the bridge.

Lumiya had her plan, and Krayt undoubtedly had his own. Now it was time for her plans to come to fruition. And time for the Yuuzhan Vong to reclaim their rightful place...as rulers of the infidel galaxy.

XX

"That was too close." Han said in exhaustion.

"Agreed. You pair did well." Luke said patting Ben's shoulder.

"Am I the only one who's worried that there's a Yuuzhan Vong cruiser floating around, and more importantly, firing at us?" Mara asked, her eyes narrowed in worry.

Jacen narrowed his eyes as he and Jaina entered.

"No you're not. Whoever this lot are, I reckon they didn't follow the Sekot Accords and must have been in hiding ever since." He said worriedly.

"Doesn't that risk restarting the war? Having any military forces is basically an act of war." K'kruhk said with a frown, fearing what another Vong War could do to the galaxy, even without Abeloth running around amok.

Leia nodded.

"Yes. Whatever we do next, we need to contact Chief A'kla and Admiral Niathal and find out what they want to do about this." She said.

"Well where are we headed? Somewhere hopefully where a Vong with a grudge won't be waiting for us with open cannons." Lumiya said disdainfully.

"Don't worry Lumiya. You get used to people shooting at you on this ship." Luke said, and ignored Han's dirty look.

"My repairs won't hold, and we need to replace the escape pods." Mara said.

"Aside from that how bad is the damage?" Ben asked in concern, slightly worried that the ship would fall apart while they were in hyperspace.

"We can get to a place with a spaceport but that's it. We can't go and find Alma until we get repairs that we can't get in hyperspace." Han concluded.

"So where are we going?" Jaina asked.

"We're making our way to Lorrd. If we reach there is another matter." Lumiya said wryly, smiling as she noticed Han tense slightly.

"Why is everyone picking on my ship?" Han moaned.

"Because it nearly got us killed again." Ben said with a grin.

"Hey!"

Lumiya rolled her eyes.

"Well if you don't need me anymore, I think I will go and recover from our dice with death in my chambers." She said, nodded to them and swept out.

They shook their heads as she left. They had escaped death yet again, and while the ship was in need of repairs, as usual, they were now bound for safety at Lorrd. And despite the fact that they had a Sith on the crew, the fact that they had just narrowly escaped a rogue Vong cruiser had put them in a relatively good mood. It was still a pretty good day.

Jacen ruffled Ben's hair proudly and the three kids went aft with a cheerful K'kruhk.

"Just a normal day at the office." Mara sighed as she and Luke got up.

"Why do they always blame me? It's not my fault!" Han repeated, and Leia grinned.

"Sure it isn't." Leia said consolingly, though she was quite as content to blame him as the rest.

"Where you going?" he asked curiously as she headed through the smoky corridors.

"For a chat." She said and headed to the crew quarters.

Han shook his head in resignation.

"I say, could someone please get me out of this melting circuitry?" Threepio called and Artoo beeped in amusement.

XX

Lumiya was sitting on her bunk in a meditative pose as Leia entered.

"Princess. I wondered how long we would last before one of you came a calling." She said with a sinister smile.

Leia narrowed her eyes and kept her hand on her saber.

"I'm going to warn you now Lumiya. We mean business. If you make any move to stick your talons into any of the kids...Mara and I will gut you like a Rokarian dirt fish." Leia vowed, her eyes narrowed in intense dislike.

Lumiya smiled mockingly.

"Aww how sweet. The mommies protecting the kiddies." She said in a terrible babyish voice that made Leia's hair stand on end.

She had been absent for years, and it seemed that she was just as bitter as she had ever been if not more so. And while she did seem to want to help the galaxy, she knew that the fact that they needed her would protect her from any fall-outs, so she could push their buttons all she liked. She was bitter, twisted and evil. She may want something that she couldn't quite fathom, but she also knew that she wanted to get back at them for all the trouble they had given her years ago. But Leia was damned if she was going to let it happen.

"Yeah we are. Keep away from them." Leia intoned, and Lumiya laughed evilly.

"Do not worry little Leia...your little boy is quite safe from me now." She purred.

Leia glared at her, and Lumiya's eyes brightened in victory.

"Oh yes Leia, I know of your problems. I have heard of what you did...and that in some other reality, I turned Jacen to the dark side and he became a Sith Lord...who you and the rest of your family abandoned to become the worst Sith since Sidious himself, and then allowed your little girl to kill him." She said triumphantly.

"You would love that wouldn't you? Ripping our family apart?" Leia asked snidely.

Lumiya shrugged.

"I admit it may hold some allure to me Leia...but trust me, if I trained Jacen he would become a Sith to bring peace and order to the galaxy. And if you didn't like his methods...then perhaps you are the ones who were at fault for not understanding what he was trying to do." Lumiya said simply.

"He murdered thousands of innocent people!"

Lumiya arched her brow.

"But in the name of galactic peace, order and security, daren't we make any sacrifice?" she asked.

Leia shook her head.

"You're unbelievable. Whatever Lumiya. Keep away from all of them." She said and turned to go.

Lumiya sighed.

"You needn't worry Leia. Your son is no longer appropriate Sith material." She said truthfully.

Leia turned and looked at her curiously.

"He has become too emotional, too open...he was much more of a candidate at the Insurrection...but something happened and undid my plans. He started opening up, talking again, trusting again...and I knew that I did not have my opening anymore. During the war the only anchor he had to his family was Ben as the rest of you had pulled away from him. How sad he must have been...to turn to a Sith to feel loved." She said gloatingly.

Leia glared at her, and struggled to keep her anger in check and prevent herself from slicing Lumiya on two. The thing that annoyed her most is that Lumiya was probably right.

"Fine...just stay away from them." Leia growled and left Lumiya in the quarters.

Lumiya smiled beneath her veil. Despite the fact that she was with age old enemies and their progeny...she was rather enjoying herself. And Vongerella had performed admirably.

"Yes..I can see this working." She said smugly, as the ship hurtled towards Lorrd.

**That was close! Typical Falcon, failing at exactly the wrong time.**

**So Tavira is still on the run, but has now joined with Lumiya. That can't bode well. Neither can the fact that Krayt has an SSD at his disposal. And now he has Ship, which also isnt good news...**

**And Vongerella has a trick or two up her sleeve. And Lumiya too has a secret plan which came to me in a flash of light and could possibly be a sequel one day...**

**But what is the main plan? Who are the other conspirators?**

**At least everyone is alright again, despite the fact that Lumiya is onboard. What will happen on Lorrd? It will not be the restful repair stop they undoubtedly want, and both an old enemy and an old friend return! How will Niathal and A'kla react to the news that there's a Vong cruiser on the run? Time will tell!**

**Until next time, please read and review!**


	8. Episode II: Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

The _Sith Dragon_ dropped out of hyperspace, arriving into the midst of the fleet that Darth Krayt had assembled for his Sith Order. A group of Star Destroyers, nine in all fell into flanking position beside the massive SSD, and a group of other small ships, such as Dreadnaughts, Lancer Frigates, Interceptor Frigates and Interdictors all surrounded them as the large fleet travelled across the barren looking planet of Korriban.

In the hangar of his mammoth flagship, Krayt entered Ship, smiling as he did so. His arrival at the meeting in a Super Star Destroyer had certainly thrown Lumiya and Vongerella for six, and Krayt had taken a large amount of smug pleasure knowing that he had shocked Lumiya, who would undoubtedly be trying to amass enough ships to one day successfully combat his fleet. It was but a forlorn hope. While it was small compared to the number of ships the Galactic Alliance commanded, it was more than adequate to totally flatten Lumiya's puny fleet.

The plan she had outlined would work, and during the course of it she would get the revenge that she had so long wanted. It would also return the Sith to dominance years earlier than he had planned, which suited his ends. However, it unfortunately meant that as he and Vongerella didn't know everything about the plan, he had to keep Lumiya alive for the moment, complicated by the fact that Vongerella didn't like him much either. Alliances between different factions of Sith were notoriously difficult business, especially as the various parts were always trying to get one up on the other.

Ship glided out of his cruiser, descending towards the planet. Krayt had to inform Wyyrlok of recent developments. As Krayt's Voice, it would be his duty to ensure their part in the plan was prepared for while Krayt returned to temporary stasis.

Ship descended from the fleet in orbit, a flanking force of four TIE Fighters escorting him down to the Temple that they had created underneath XoXaan's tomb. Ship settled into the hangar and Krayt stood with a vigour that surprised himself. Ship, apparently realising that Krayt has getting on, was using its own powers to lessen the trouble he had standing up. Long years, combined with the torture of the Yuuzhan Vong, had made Krayt not as whole as he should be. His joints sometimes ached, and the Vong growths covering him were kept at bay by use of the dark side extensively. However, on Ship, he felt normal, almost whole. Interesting. Perhaps Ship could be used as a partial substitute for stasis.

Pondering this, he strode from the sphere, and saw his four most useful and powerful servants awaiting him. The Chagrian Darth Wyyrlok was the first among his many Sith servants, his Voice during his periods in stasis. Trained by Krayt himself, he was his closest supporter, and assumed command of the Sith when Krayt was unable to do so. His right hand horn was a stump that led to a scar trailing down to his mouth. Wyyrlok acted as an adviser and as a caretaker for Krayt and as such was the second in command of the entire Sith Order.

Next was Darth Oracle, the Bothan female in charge of Sith Intelligence and Assassination. Her fur had been traced with jagged black tattoos, like those exhibited by the rest of the Order, as had originally been displayed by Darth Maul, Darth Sidious' first apprentice. Cold, powerful and merciless, she had been found by Darth Wyyrlok during his first solo mission and he had brought her back to Korriban for training. She was responsible for all espionage, torture, assassinations and all the other secret, shadowy acts that her sect excelled at. She was also highly vision prone and foresaw things with excellent clarity, making her a very useful member of the Order and she was capable of identifying threats or tracking down leads without even having to deploy agents.

Third in the line was Darth Cyclone, the Trandoshan Fist of the Order. The Fist served as Krayt's military commander, leading the army of minions and the fleet in orbit in whatever Krayt required. A hulking brute, his skin dyed black and adorned with red tattoos, a departure from the rest of the Sith in the Order, he was an incredibly powerful Sith and one of Krayt's most loyal servants.

And finally there was Darth Krush, a Vurk male, his head red with jagged blades of black tattoos. He was Krayt's Hand, one of his most loyal and deadly servants, his own personal assassin, and his skill with a lightsaber was second only to that of Krayt and Wyyrlok themselves.

"My lord." Wyyrlok said in greeting, bowing with the other three.

"Walk with me my lords." Krayt ordered and they fell into step behind him, with Wyyrlok standing by his side.

"How was the meeting with Lumiya my lord?" Krush queried, his voice full of contempt.

Krayt suppressed a smile. Krush had begged Krayt many times to allow him out to kill the other Sith, only to be refused by Krayt. He saw Lumiya's refusal to officially ally with them and submit to Krayt's wishes as downright treacherous and believed that Krayt was the only Sith worth following. He viewed Lumiya as a traitor to her own cause, and wanted nothing more than to kill her and make Krayt the true reigning Dark Lord of the Sith without any competition.

"As well as can be expected Lord Krush. However you will be aggrieved to know that I have agreed to, for the time being at least, cooperate with Lumiya. She has a plan which will return the Sith to dominance all the quicker, and break the spine of the Alliance in the process. Vongerella and I both agree that the plan has merit. As a result, we will allow the plan to develop, and once it succeeds...only then will you be allowed to kill Lumiya, and then we shall take the galaxy for our own." Krayt promised, and Krush smiled, showing teeth.

As they progressed, he filled them in on the details of the plan.

"Very well my lord. I shall prepare our forces and have them ready to go at a second's notice." Cyclone informed Krayt.

"Very good Lord Cyclone, see that you do." Krayt ordered.

"I shall investigate whatever her plan may be, try to identify her allies. I can make some educated guesses but I would prefer to be sure." Oracle said, and Krayt nodded as they entered his chambers, with him sitting on his throne.

"Lord Wyyrlok, the ship I arrived in is a Sith Meditation Sphere. In it I feel more powerful, more myself. Could it possibly be used as a partial replacement for stasis?" Krayt asked curiously.

Wyyrlok pondered this question, while all present stared at him.

"It is possible that it could be, yes my lord. Provided it is a tool for the dark side, it could perhaps be used as such a device." Wyyrlok theorised.

"Excellent. The ship seems to wish to go somewhere. I shall allow it to take me there and see what occurs. I suspect that it can feel out other dark side presences that could be made to join the One Sith. If I succeed in this, integrating them will be your responsibility Lord Wyyrlok." Krayt said, and his servant bowed.

"My lord, I have heard reports that a certain Jedi is travelling with Luke Skywalker, a Whiphid from the days of the Old Republic, by the name of K'Kruhk." Oracle informed him.

"Yes I know Lady Oracle, Lumiya saw fit to tell me of this news." Krayt said.

"I received a vision my lord." Oracle said in her soft voice, which befitted a politician much more than a Sith Lady.

"Indeed?" Krayt queried, wondering what she could have seen.

"I foresaw him facing you in a duel Dread Lord. And you did not seem to be winning." She concluded worriedly.

For a minute silence reigned, and Cyclone and Krush both dropped their hands to their sabers, ready to strike Oracle down for her blasphemy. Wyyrlok looked at them, ready to stop them if they should move without the say so of Lord Krayt, and they tensely waited for Krayt's reply. Oracle herself looked as though she was petrified, and her fur kept rippling, indicating that she was scared that she had told her master the truth of her vision but would still suffer for it.

Then, Krayt laughed. With that, Cyclone and Krush pulled their hands away from their sabers, though still glowered at Oracle. Wyyrlok breathed a silent sigh of relief as Krayt turned to Oracle.

"Lady Oracle...K'Kruhk is even older than I am, and has seen a lot more damage and death over the last several generations. He is also a dogmatic follower of the Jedi Code. He will not be able to challenge me. Perhaps all you saw was me feinting to draw him in enough so that I can take his head." Krayt said, waving his hand.

Oracle bowed her head, though his dismissal of the threat K'Kruhk posed to her master worried her. Her visions were rarely wrong, and the fact that Krayt dismissed it showed her that he was relying a little too much on Lumiya's plan. Worriedly, she looked across at Wyyrlok, but his face was clouded.

"Leave me. I shall meditate here for a while before returning to the sphere." Krayt ordered, and all of them bowed before leaving.

Oracle stayed close to Wyyrlok as they left Krayt's chambers. Krush and Cyclone went on ahead, leaving them alone in the corridor.

"I did foresee that master." She growled, and Wyyrlok nodded.

"I suspected you might have. You think this K'Kruhk is a threat to our Lord Krayt?" he queried, entering his quarters and beckoning for her to follow.

"Yes I do, and although I am not comfortable admitting it, I believe he is wrong in dismissing the threat." Oracle said quietly.

"Then we shall have to deal with this threat Lady Oracle. I shall make a call, and we shall head off this threat to Lord Krayt." He said, and activated the comm unit.

Oracle stood impassively behind him as Wyyrlok made the call, to a famed bounty hunter who they had used before, an old hand at killing Jedi. She would be quite useful in the coming battle.

The pale white face and sunken eyes of Aurra Sing came into view, and she grinned.

"I take it you have a job for me?" she asked.

Wyyrlok nodded, though her tone displeased him slightly. It was about time the people of this galaxy recognised that Darth Sidious' era of Sith was dead, and they were the new face of the Sith. But, considering how good Sing was at killing Jedi and the fact that she did know of the true Sith, he supposed he had to keep her on side.

"Yes bounty hunter. A Jedi of the Old Republic has dared rear his ugly head once again, and he may pose a threat to our lord Krayt. I want him eliminated...and if at all possible his companions as well." Wyyrlok said grimly.

Aurra's eyes flashed with malice.

"A Jedi of the Old Republic? About time I got to kill another one of them. Who's the target?" she asked, excitement in her voice.

"An aged Whiphid by the name of K'Kruhk. Do you know him?" Wyyrlok asked.

Aurra grinned.

"I've heard of him. Hmm, imagine...Vader, Grievous and Ventress all failed to kill him and now I'll finish the job. Who are his companions?"

Wyyrlok exchanged a glance with Oracle, who nodded.

"The Skywalkers and Solos." He said simply, and a flush spread in Aurra's alabaster cheeks.

"K'Kruhk I'm willing to take out, but you want me to take on the leaders of the New Jedi Order?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing.

Wyyrlok smiled tightly.

"If at all possible."

"Then I want extra. An extra ten per cent per head plus my usual fee." She said firmly.

"An extra ten percent? You ask much bounty hunter." Wyyrlok said warningly.

"If you want their heads, then I'd better get it too." Aurra purred, knowing full well that she was safe from the one horned Chagrian as he wanted the Jedi out of the way.

"Very well bounty hunter. Lady Oracle, where are they headed?" he asked.

Oracle closed her eyes and perceived a Vong Cruiser, most likely that witch Vongerella's, bearing down on the _Millennium Falcon_...and a mention of Lorrd.

"They are heading to Lorrd." She reported, and Aurra smiled.

"Then Lorrd will become their grave then won't it?" she said and her holo shimmered out.

"Insolent..." Oracle hissed.

"Yes, she is. But she has killed a great many Jedi, and the old Whiphid probably thinks her dead so she may have a chance of taking him out whereas others wouldn't." Wyyrlok explained, though the insolence the Jedi killer had shown rankled with him as much as it did his former apprentice.

"Still...the sooner this plan comes about and we can kill Jedi ourselves the happier I will be." Oracle sneered.

"I quite agree my apprentice."

Oracle stood in silence and peered into the future once more, and saw green blades flashing, and a sense of foreboding crept into her stomach.

"What if Sing fails?" she asked worriedly.

Wyyrlok looked at her disdainfully.

"Oracle, she is a Dark Jedi. Her loathing of them will keep her quiet." He said confidently.

"Of course my master." Oracle said, bowing, and she left his quarters.

Oracle pondered as she swept down the corridor to her own quarters. Far beneath them, in the deepest recesses of the temple, Spaarti cloning cylinders were creating troops for their eventual return to dominance if they were forced to move before the Sith outnumbered the Jedi. At present they had around about two hundred members, and that number was growing daily. The clones they already had were in command of the large fleet that protected Korriban, reporting to Sith masters.

The problem was Darth Krayt and Wyyrlok were too focused on the plan of Lumiya's. Clever and workable it may be, but Oracle didn't believe that they should move so soon even with Lumiya's help, as the so called Dark Lady of the Sith would betray them as soon as it was in her best interests, and the bitter old witch had already registered her dislike for the One Sith and was clearly using them. And while Oracle did have confidence in the abilities of Darth Krayt, when it came to betrayal and manipulation, there were few like Lumiya. His reliance on this plan of hers was worrying to say the least.

And there was also Darth Wyyrlok's refusal to see that using Aurra Sing may lead to trouble later on. Yes Aurra Sing detested Jedi and wouldn't talk willingly...but under the scrutiny of the Grand Master of the Jedi Order and his exceptionally powerful nephew she may not be able to keep her head. And as Director of Sith Intelligence it was Oracle's job to make sure the One Sith remained hidden until it was time for them to reveal themselves to the galaxy.

Entering her quarters, she keyed for the Mandalore system and pulled her cowl up over her face.

The helmeted face of Boba Fett, the most infamous bounty hunter in the galaxy, materialised before her, with his granddaughter, Mirta Gev in the background. Mirta had been a surprise for the entire galaxy when the news had gotten out that Fett had a granddaughter. Her mother, Ailyn Vel, had been betrayed by her Hutt employer on Etta IV and had been killed in an ambush there. Mirta had originally sought out her grandfather in order to get revenge on the Hutt, which she achieved, and rumour had it Fett was now moulding her to become Mandalore after him.

"Boba Fett." She said in her soft voice.

"And who might you be?" he asked, feigning disinterest, but he had learned from long experience that shadowy employers often made for the most interesting jobs.

"You know my type Mandalore. You often worked for one of the most infamous in the galaxy. Recall the queen Selestrine and the pitched duel you fought on the lava banks of Maryx Minor." Oracle purred.

Fett narrowed his eyes behind his helmet. This Bothan, whoever she was, knew a lot of stuff she shouldn't already. Very few in the galaxy knew about the confrontation he had had with Darth Vader on Maryx Minor in the stronghold of the Ancient Order of Pessimists. In fact, due to the fact that Vader had destroyed the hermitage, Fett suspected that he should be the only one left in the galaxy who knew about it.

"You're a Sith." Fett said plainly, though wondering how this could have happened.

As far as he knew, Darth Vader and the Emperor had been the final Sith Lords...aside from Lady Lumiya and for all he knew she was long dead. So who was she? A new apprentice of Lumiya's...or a new sect of Sith entirely?

"Indeed I am Boba Fett. My name is Darth Oracle, and I have a very important mission for you." She said, and Fett shook his head, indicating for Mirta to deal with it.

"Look lady, Sith or not, we don't want involved with whatever you've got in the works, we have enough with keeping the Galactic Alliance off the massive vein of beskar that we dug up." She said and moved to turn off the projector.

Oracle smiled, showing her pointed teeth.

"But if you do not hear me out, your grandfather may not be able to settle a score in his father's memory." She purred, and Boba, more out of curiosity than anything else, stayed Mirta's hand.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"You are familiar with the bounty hunter by the name of Aurra Sing?" Oracle queried, sensing him biting her hook.

Fett frowned. He had assumed Aurra dead years ago, after a fight with the fugitive Jedi Jax Pavan. He'd had a strange relationship with her during the Clone Wars. When they had first met, she had tried to steal the fortune his father had left him. After outwitting her and escaping her grasp, she had later came to him and apologised for her earlier actions, saying it was a test that his father had wanted him to pass. He hadn't believed her, but knowing that she was a known Jedi killer, he decided to let it go in order to get her help in killing the one who murdered his father: Mace Windu. This failed, and she had been defeated by Anakin Skywalker's apprentice at the time, Ahsoka Tano. She had later escaped and they had parted ways for good.

"Yeah, I reckoned she was dead. She's alive?" he asked curiously, and Oracle nodded and affirmative.

"My master has hired her to perform a service but I believe she may not be up to the challenge." She explained.

Fett scoffed.

"Look lady, if your master hired Aurra she'll get the job done." He promised her.

Oracle nodded.

"Indeed. Her primary mission I have little doubt she will succeed in. However it is her secondary mission that I do not trust her to succeed in."

Mirta looked at her grandfather. He did seem to respect Sing, and didn't seem convinced about the Sith's fears. But...why would the Sith be so worried otherwise?

"What's her secondary mission?" she asked.

"To kill the Skywalkers and Solos." Oracle said simply.

Fett whistled. No wonder she didn't think Aurra could handle it. No matter how good a Jedi killer she was, even if she hadn't deteriorated a bit with age, then Aurra would still be overmatched. Luke and Mara Skywalker were two of the strongest Jedi in the order, and would be even more dangerous if their brat was threatened. Leia Solo was also the daughter of Vader, meaning she wasn't to be sneezed at either. And as for her kids...well Jacen Solo was just scary and his sister had killed the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster after all.

"I can see why you might be a bit concerned. But Aurra won't accept my help and I don't see any reason for me to give it. Win or lose I don't care either way." Fett said, ready to turn off the projector again.

"You misunderstand me bounty hunter. I do not wish you to engage the Skywalkers. My problem is Aurra Sing. If she fails she will be captured, and despite her legendary hatred of the Jedi...I do not feel she will be able to withstand their interrogation for long." She explained.

"So if she gets caught you want me to kill her?" Fett asked shrewdly, and she nodded.

"Indeed. Will you take the job? I am willing to pay one hundred thousand credits if you succeed."

Fett pondered. If he took the job he may very well be killing a sort of friend. But then again...bounty hunting was a job. You didn't get personally involved.

"Very well." He said grimly, and Oracle smiled, showing her fangs.

"Excellent. I suggest you make your way to Lorrd with all haste." She said, and flickered out.

Fett turned to Mirta.

"Get a Trak'ad ready, with a squad on it. We'll need to distract the Jedi to get close. Tell them they'll get ten percent each." He ordered, and she nodded and headed off while Fett sat back in his chair and thought.

Would he have to kill Aurra Sing? He hoped not. Or at least not until she had taken out another few Jedi for the good of the galaxy. Smiling he went to get _Slave I_ ready.

XX

Darth Krush stroked his chin as he heard the conversation between Darth Oracle and Boba Fett. It was bad enough that she thought Darth Krayt might actually be harmed by this pathetic Jedi, but to be actively condoning a mission because she was afraid for his health? Her heresy had to stop. Krayt could never fall. The Dragon of the Sith was immortal. As it was his job to protect Lord Krayt from threats to his rule, he had to get proof of Darth Oracle's treason. Yes, Wyyrlok had done it out of concern, but Oracle's action just reeked of blasphemy. And so Krush would protect his master.

"Darth Rape, come here." He ordered.

A Nikto Sith emerged from the shadows, and bowed.

"Yes Lord Krush?" he asked.

Krush had seen to Rape's training, and he was one of his best agents...though unfortunately did not come anywhere close to being as sneaky as those belonging to Oracle.

"Go to Lorrd. Observe the bounty hunters Aurra Sing and Boba Fett and record their actions. I will show Lord Krayt Oracle's lack of trust in him...and then he shall remove that witch." He said in grim satisfaction.

Rape looked at the delusional Vurk. He even thought swearing to a god that wasn't Darth Krayt was blasphemy. Darth Oracle was probably just trying to ensure Krayt and the One Sith's well being. After all that was her job. However, Krush was his superior, and as such had to be obeyed. As such, he bowed low.

"It will be as you command master." He said and swept from the room.

Krush smiled. He would crush that witch Oracle. It may go against the rules of the One Sith...but she was a threat with her precognition. If word got out she was worried about Krayt it would destabilise his power base. Yes. He had to get rid of her. For the good of the Sith.

XX

The ship shuddered out of lightspeed and began limping down towards the planet, smoke emitting from several ruptures on the hull caused by the coralskippers.

"Welcome to Lorrd." Han said as he set the ailing ship down in a dock of the spaceport.

Threepio looked out of the viewport as technicians started pointing excitedly and running forward with extinguishers to put out the small fires on the hull.

"Yet another planet to add to the list of planets that the _Falcon_ has been repaired on." He commented idly.

"How long is this list?" Lumiya asked drily.

"About ten pages long at last count." Jacen said cheekily, earning him a glare from Han and an indulgent smile from Lumiya.

"Right...plan?" Jaina asked.

"Me and the droids will stay here and see to the techies doing the repairs, then I'll come and catch you up. You two, stay here at all time...people might want to steal the ship." Han said.

"Of course Captain Solo." Threepio responded.

Lumiya gave Han a sly smile.

"I doubt you need to worry about someone stealing this ship Solo. The only thieves that would take this ship will be down on their luck and had to do it for a dare just to prove they can still do it." She said tartly, and Luke and Ben had to turn away from each other to hide their grins.

Han glowered at the Sith.

"Right, K'Kruhk and I will go and inform Chief A'kla and Admiral Niathal of the Vong Cruiser, just in case there is a rogue fleet out there that's about to start causing trouble." Luke said, and K'Kruhk nodded.

"Indeed. We have enough problems with Abeloth out there. We don't need round two of the Vong War."

"What will we do with her?" Mara asked, pointing at Lumiya.

"Lock me in my room like a bad girl?" Lumiya said teasingly.

She might be able to get peace to meditate...and catch up on all the messages she had been receiving whilst in hyperspace.

"I'm not leaving her on my ship! She'd run off with it and strand us here." Han said grumpily, and Lumiya snorted.

"If I want to leave that badly, I'd shoot myself instead to save me the embarrassment of being seen in this junkpile." She scoffed, and Han's cheeks went red.

"Well," Leia said, smiling at Han's unexpressed fury, "she can come with us. We need to get some more supplies."

Lumiya nodded.

"Very well. And while they deal with other matters, we can have a coffee somewhere, I'm dying on a real cup, not the recycled sweat the machine cranks out."

Mara looked at her curiously.

"Are you buying?"

Lumiya rolled her eyes.

"Oh I suppose so."

"Alright then." She said brightly.

"And what do we do?" Ben asked curiously, trying to get the image of his aunt, mother and Lumiya all sitting down and sipping coffee in a cafe out of his head.

"You go and explore, you're young, make the most of it." Luke said.

"And make the most of your limbs too, they tend to go missing in present company." Lumiya said tartly as she followed Leia from the cockpit.

Luke rolled his eyes. Granted, she hadn't been much trouble since they'd escaped the Vong ship. While certainly not missing a chance to rub any of them up the wrong way, drop a subtle hint about her injuries or sneer loudly about the state of the ship, she was generally alright. She helped do the dishes and made a fine cup of tea when she put her mind to it, and she'd had a few long talks with Luke and K'Kruhk about Abeloth and the threat she posed. She had also taken to playing holo chess and had beaten Jaina, much to the young Jedi's great disgust. She had also taken the pranks Ben had been playing on her in good grace, such as the time when he had used the Force to jam the toilet door shut when she was in it for several hours, and had only relented when his mother had threatened to cut his hair unless he opened it as she was quite desperate.

"Come on K'Kruhk, let's go break the bad news to the powers that be." Luke said, and the large Whiphid followed him out.

Han flumped in his seat. Having a Sith on board stank. Especially when she kept making cracks about his ship. And the thing that annoyed him most about that...a fair few of them were probably true.

XX

Lumiya followed the two matriarchs down the ramp. The last two days had been fun in their own sort of way. Annoying the crew in any way possible had certainly made it worth the effort of getting up in the morning. But, the problem was the Skywalker boy, amusing though he undoubtedly was...for Lumiya had actually cracked a few genuine smiles at his jokes. He had seen fit to exasperate her at every opportunity, despite Jacen's warnings of 'not to piss off the evil Sith wifey'. As such, she would find herself locked in the toilet for several hours, crept up on when she least expected it, or interrupted during her meditations. If it wasn't for the fact that she was outnumbered, and her plan, she probably would have diced off a limb to teach the boy a lesson. And then she could gloat to Luke as well.

But now, she was on the ground, and would finally be able to check her messages from the small implant in her brain. A prototype that was meant to be implanted in the skulls of all Emperor's Hands, it allowed the user to receive messages directed to them without the benefit of a terminal, meaning that provided you were on ground or on a large enough ship that wasn't in hyperspace, you could received messages at all times, that wouldn't disturb you from what you were doing. Codenamed the Emperor's Ear, it was meant to be installed soon after Lumiya herself became a Hand...but then Palpatine had died at Endor and she and her counterparts had been spared. However, Lumiya had found the plans when she had visited Carnor Jax, her former apprentice, at Ord Cantrell after he had taken over the Imperial Ruling Council under her machinations. She had then adapted them to fit in with other cybernetic implants, and now wore it at all times and now she had a continuous feed of messages. She quickly deleted most of them, however, she left the most recent report from General Wethen and Captain Valek untouched to pursue when she got a minute...when Mara and Leia weren't looking over her shoulder.

As they progressed through the city streets, Lumiya kept a little behind them, while they chatted about goodness knows what, as Mara was catching Leia up on a soap that might have been different because of the timeline. As such, Lumiya had a chance to check her messages.

The first was from General Wethen.

"_My lady, the repairs to the _Invidious_ are coming on apace, and I am conducting regular drills to keep the fleet in full combat readiness. Also, your agents at Yaga Minor came in with an interesting report. They report that a Yuuzhan Vong gunship was seen at the edge of the system. It may be nothing, but I thought I should alert you in case it was Lady Vongerella. General Wethen out._"

Lumiya pondered the report. The report on her own fleet was satisfactory. However, the report on the Vong gunship at Yaga Minor, while not worrying per se, did make her feel slightly uneasy. Yuuzhan Vong ship sightings happened several times a week. Old gossips who just wanted to talk to someone important, drunk pilots who were boasting to their friends, or those who felt that the Vong should have been exterminated and wanted to try and goad the Alliance into going after Zonama Sekot...there were plenty of choices. But, Yaga Minor was close to the Unknown Regions, which was definitely where Vongerella was rumoured to be last, so the reports could actually be true. And if they were, Vongerella clearly had something up her sleeve. After all she was a Sith, and she was a Sith who Lumiya had trained. But...what was she up to? If it jeopardised her plan in any way...

Grumbling slightly, she went onto the report form Captain Valek, only an hour or so old.

"_My lady, I have good news. Tavira, after a lot of grumbling, has managed to procure us an Interdictor going by the name of the _Crucible_. I am awaiting a caretaker force to take it back to Bimmiel to get it embedded into the fleet. She also believes she can get us a Star Destroyer, and is making significant strides in that field. However, I am slightly worried by her interest in local pirate groups. I will continue to keep an eye on her my lady._"

Lumiya smiled. An Interdictor, excellent. And if Tavira managed to get them another Star Destroyer so much the better. And she decided not to let the news that Tavira was investigating pirate groups bother her. If she got out of hand...Valek would deal with her.

Mara led them into a clothes shop, as for the last few days she had been complaining about the state of Jacen and Jaina's jumpsuits.

"Aren't they a bit too old for their mom and aunt to be shopping for their clothes?" she asked disdainfully.

"Being a mother is being able to dote Lumiya. And besides, they have no taste." Leia said simply, and Lumiya couldn't suppress a grin.

Mara was looking over at the women's section with a sad eye as she saw a black dress that even Lumiya had to admit looked nice.

"You reckon Luke would take you know, more notice, if I wore something like this?" she asked, taking it off the hanger.

Lumiya's eyes widened. Well here was news. Luke didn't take much notice of that sort...interesting indeed.

"Aww Mara, look on the bright side...at least you're alive to not have notice taken of you." Leia appeased.

She was no expert but Lumiya didn't think that would improve Mara's mood, which seemed to have gone slightly down.

"Well there's still love there, but not like what you and Han have...you two still have passion too." She lamented, then hung the dress back up, looking wistful.

Lumiya looked at her former nemesis, and at her former nemesis' sister in law. Both of them were looking slightly wistful, as though missing something long gone. If she had to spend the day with lovelorn middle aged women she was going to break the truce in record time. Time to take drastic action.

"Oh for the love of the Sith! Will you two listen to yourselves? Just because you're both Jedi and both getting on doesn't mean that sort of stuff needs to stop you know! You're strong, powerful, independent women! Act like it! Luke and Han, for all their skills and powers...are men! They're notoriously easy to satisfy. By the Force, you're getting on, you're not celibate...or dead. So, let's see..." she said ponderingly, while Leia and Mara looked at each other in surprise.

"Ah!" she said triumphantly and withdrew a slim blue dress that looked very classy, she showed it to Mara, who smiled.

"Is it wrong that I actually like that?" she asked their companion, who shrugged, appraising it.

"A romantic dinner...a few glasses of wine...this dress...the galaxy's your oyster." Lumiya promised.

Mara sent the Sith an odd look then took the dress and went to try it on.

"Now, let's find something sexy for the momma to wear." Lumiya said, and interested despite herself, Leia went to join her.

Lumiya picked up a few random dresses, a green 'no you shall look like a lightsaber', a white 'who the hell told them to bring back Imperial chic? That with the buns simply isn't on', a red 'no people will think you're a harlot' and an orange one 'that will never do, it's much too loud, you wouldn't be able to hear it over your husband's snoring'. She then found a deep purple one, which even Leia couldn't contain her delight at, and as she went to try it on grinning, Lumiya felt quite pleased with herself...until she realised what she had done.

"What am I _doing_? I'm a Sith not a personal shopper! And worse I'm helping my enemies pick out dresses to attract their husbands attention. It must be that ship, I'm going crazy! Forget the coffee I'll need a good strong brandy instead," she said, then saw the assistant looking at her as if she was indeed crazy, "hey how you doing?" she asked, and he backed away.

Lumiya sighed in frustration. She was going to have to go and kill a few people or plot some new scheme or even just kick some kid off their bicycle just to feel like a Sith again. For goodness sake, what was happening to her?

Ten minutes later, they left the shop, and to add insult to injury, Mara and Leia had actually bought the damn dresses!

"See doesn't helping people feel good Lumiya?" Leia asked with a grin.

"No it bloody well doesn't. Just because I want the galaxy to be united and peaceful doesn't mean I have to be nice about it." She responded grumpily, and the three headed for a cafe.

XX

Dass Jennir struggled out from the smashed in door of his group's _Consular_ frigate. Two of their smuggler friends, a Xexto and a Quermian partnership had been killed by the crash, leaving them only eight to try and find the others with. He was one of the three Jedi in the group, and the commander of this frigate. His second in command was Noriah Na, the former Padawan of Simms, who had been killed during Order 66. She had been urged into hiding by Kai Hudorra and had found the Survivors purely by accident when she had crash landed on the planet after having been outed by Jerec as a Jedi. She had escaped and stayed with the Survivors since.

The other Jedi present was Maris Brood, the last Padawan of Jedi Council member Shaak Ti. Having escaped Vader's assassin on Felucia, K'Kruhk had found and redeemed her totally and she had remained with them since.

"What the hell was that?" Varks, a Kubaz, asked.

Dass turned to look at the Kubaz, who was even older than he was. The other four members of the crew, aside from him, contain a Barabel, a Gamorrean, a Nautolan and a Bothan.

"I think it was our enemy...so be careful. Come, and stay behind Noriah, Maris and I." He ordered.

Dass then led the way out of the crippled ship. After entering the atmosphere, Piru's ship had unexpectedly dropped from the sky. Before they could do anything, Dass' ship had been hurled away as if caught by some powerful Force push and it had slammed to a stop at the edge of a barren area of scrubland. Dass didn't like the feel of this place at all. He had argued to agree with K'Kruhk and Tra's plan to wait, but Quinlan had overrode his objections, and now he too was leading a part of the expedition. But in his gut, there was a horrible feeling that Dass had come to associate with imminent misery over the years.

He had survived the Great Jedi Purge by keeping busy and with the help of a few friends who were sadly no longer with them. After losing his faithful companion Bomo Greenbark he had decided to cut himself off from the Force completely and had headed to Myrkr...where Tra Saa had found him and had taken him to the enclave where he had become a member of the Survival Council. And now here he was...on this mission to stop the true threat.

He led the team onward, the odd sun beating down on them but not actually making them warm, which struck Dass as slightly odd.

"Master Jennir? Can you sense the others, because I can't raise them on the comm." Varks said.

The guarded look he received from Noriah and Maris told them they had the same problem.

"No...but that does not mean we should give up hope." He said firmly, though he too was worried.

They came to the edge of the scrubland, to an area of cracked ground where small hisses of gas were escaping.

"I don't like the looks of this." The Nautolan, Zec, commented.

"Be careful." Maris said, looking up and seeing the volcano in the distance and having a horrible feeling that not everyone would get over this cracked earth alive.

They made their way over slowly, all of them looking around. Noriah looked at Dass, and she could feel his worry. Abeloth had brought down the entire task force, and may already have killed the others. Rendered unconscious by the crash, and their Force sight blocked by Abeloth's dark side pall, they couldn't find the others even if they were still alive.

They were just near the edge of the dried out scrubland when suddenly a large burst of gas forced itself out of the crust, totally boiling apart Varks in the process.

"No!" the Bothan, Druvisk, cried out in despair as the old Kubaz was boiled off the face off the galaxy.

"Quickly, to the edge before any more of the field goes up!" Dass ordered and led the group over the scrub, eventually getting out of the way of all cracks.

"Was that the Force that did that?" Zeyer, the Barabel asked.

Maris shook her head.

"No, that was Abeloth. She means to pick us off one by one." She said darkly, then beckoned them all forward.

Dass thought about what to do as they moved forward. For them to have gotten so far over the field and only to lose one meant that either Abeloth wasn't strong enough to kill them all at once or she was saving herself to cause them more suffering as they went on. Braat, the Gamorrean, looked out over the top of the strange things that passed for trees on this planet, and Dass, with his failing eyes, could barely make out the tip of the volcano they were making for.

"That's where she is alright. You can feel it." Noriah said with a shudder.

Dass nodded gravely. Abeloth felt calm, satisfied. Did that mean that she had already killed some of the party? He didn't want to think about it. They edged down a small rocky hill, and as they did so, a large serpent burst out of the ground. Two times longer than a lightsaber, it hissed at them as the party came to a stop and it made a retching sound, before globules of green mucus came flying out from its mouth. Dass, Noriah and Maris caught some of them on their lightsabers, making them hiss and sizzle as they did so. Zec however was not as lucky. One globule hit him right in the middle of the head, and a ragged circular hole burned into his forehead and he dropped to the ground, his eyes blank. Braat gave a cry and picked up the snake, which tried to bite him, and then he pulled it in half.

"What the hell was that thing?" Druvisk asked weakly, looking at their dead friend.

"Very dangerous. Stay close, and do not disturb and of the larger rocks if at all possible." Dass warned.

They slowly got down the steep slope, with Zeyer reaching the bottom first. Just as he turned to help Noriah down to the ground, the ground opened beneath him and he plummeted into darkness with a scream as the ground close upon him, trapping him for all eternity.

"By the Force..." Drivosk whispered, and Braat snorted in surprised terror.

"We should not have come here. I warned the Council..." Dass lamented, the lives lost weighing on him.

"Master Jennir, we cannot despair. It is what our enemy wants." Noriah warned and they headed onward, the team quiet.

For hours they travelled, and with nothing else happening, Druvisk and Braat seemed slightly more optimistic. However, Dass was filled with foreboding, knowing that Abeloth was most likely waiting to lead them into a trap.

And as soon as he saw the large canyon that they had to cross over, he knew he was right. Peering over the edge, Maris wrinkled her nose.

"There's something that stinks down there...and something that's moving." She said ominously, looking concerned.

Dass nodded.

"Right, Noriah, leap across first. Maris and I will then levitate the others over to you, then join you ourselves." He said, and the younger Jedi sprang over the gap.

Maris reached out with the Force, and she and Dass lifted Darovisk and Braat with the Force, Dass struggling a bit with the Gamorrean's bulk. However just as he was about to begin settling the Gamorrean down on the other side, a massive, thorny root shot up into the air from the bottom of the canyon. Dass blasted Braat to the other side of the canyon, but didn't move quickly enough to Darovisk. The root wrapped around his body, then pulled his screaming body downwards, before smashing him off the side of the canyon.

"Oh no...I..." Maris said, and Dass took a hold of her and, exerting himself and his grasp on the Force, leapt over with her in his arms.

Braat looked down at the bottom of the canyon and shook his head sadly. Dass sighed, clapped Maris on the shoulder, and led them on. The volcano was in sight, and the sense of the dark side was getting stronger as they reached nearer and nearer to Abeloth's lair.

"Right. You know why we came here, to try and destroy this monster. In light of our losses, it is now...even...more..." Dass said, and tailed off as Braat's vibroaxe shot into the air, swung round and took its owner's head off.

Noriah and Maris gasped as his dead body fell to the floor, and Dass looked at them both intently.

"Come. Together we can stop this menace." He promised solemnly and led them up towards the cave that could just be made out from their position.

But as they approached, Dass began to feel more and more uncertain. Faces of people he had failed, like Bomo, Resa, his former apprentice, others he had failed started to come to mind as they got closer and closer to the cave.

And then a scream pierced the silence.

"Master Simms! Master Simms, no I didn't, I didn't fail you! Or you Master Hudorra, I ran like you wanted me to!" she screamed.

Dass suddenly had a flash of warning and he knew what was going on.

"Noriah, hear me! You did not fail them, they are not there, they do not exist!" he cried, with Maris trying to shake her out of the vision she was having.

However, Noriah then grabbed at her chest, and her hair turned shock white and she fell with a terrified expression to the floor.

"She's dead..." Maris said in wonder.

"Frightened to death by whatever she saw. Guard your mind Maris, and let us go into the unknown." Dass said, and the two lit their blades.

As they did so, Dass glanced upwards, and Maris leapt up the rocky face of the volcano, intending to descend on Abeloth from above. Dass then entered the cave, and stopped short as he saw Bomo Greenbark staring at him.

"Jennir...you came for me." He said in wonder.

"Bomo? No, this is impossible..." Dass said, stopping short as he looked at his old friend.

"Nothing is impossible on this world Dass, you should know that by now..." Bomo said, grinning horribly, and Dass somehow knew what was about to happen.

Lava boiled up in a plume from below, though amazingly, Dass seemed to be in some sort of bubble, as did Bomo. The lava travelled up and Dass heard a horrified scream and saw Maris' red sabers disappear in the sea of fire, and as it stopped black dust fell to the floor, while the lava cooled around the edges of the volcano.

"You're not Bomo..." Dass growled, breaking from the illusion and brandishing his saber.

"_Indeed not puny Jedi...indeed not_!" Abeloth cried as she returned to her true form, and two large rocks flew out from the walls and hurtled at Dass.

He sprang into the air, but due to his age he didn't quite jump far enough and the boulders crushed his left foot. Screaming in pain he fell to the ground with the boulders and his saber rolled to a stop at Abeloth's feet. She smiled and picked it up with one of her tendrils, and then sliced him in two from the head downwards.

XX

Luke and K'Kruhk entered the comm centre and made a link to Coruscant. After a few minutes, in which K'Kruhk stumped Luke with a game of hangman (revealed to spell _Lusankya_, though Luke thought the clue of 'Imperial Ship' was ridiculously vague), the holo flickered to life with the form of Saba Sebatyne.

"Master Skywalker, it izz good to see you, we were beginning to worry." She said, inclining his head.

"Sorry Saba but we had a bit of trouble. Can you get us a link to Admiral Niathal and Chief A'kla? And you can sit in too, then you can report to the Council."

Saba nodded and made the connection, making it secure in the process.

"I mean how the hell was I meant to get that?" Luke asked irritably.

"Used the Force you should have young one, to reveal the answer..." K'Kruhk said in his best Yoda voice and Luke shot him an exasperated look.

"One, the Force can't fathom your many oddities and secondly that would be cheating." He said firmly.

K'Kruhk looked slightly wistful.

"Yes, that's what Master Rancisis said when he caught me using the Force to try and figure out an answer...which to me is rather silly considering we were young Jedi at the time..."

"What were you doing?" Luke asked with a grin.

The large Whiphid chuckled.

"Using the Force to bring me the answer sheet." He said with a wink, and Luke laughed.

Saba materialised once more, and then a new holo flickered to life of the kindly, pointed face of Releqy A'kla. The daughter of Elegos, the Caamasi who Shedao Shai had murdered early during the Vong War, after the retirement of Chief Omas she had become head of state and had been relatively popular ever since, and was somehow managing to keep everyone happy without much Jedi or military intervention.

Beside her, the Mon Calamari form of Admiral Niathal shimmered to life, clearly in her command chair on her flagship, the _Ocean_. After Pellaeon had gone and retired in order to spend his twilight years keeping the Empire and the Moffs in order, she had become Supreme Commander when Admiral Bwua'tu had turned down the position. Ever since she had been cracking down on pirate groups while improving fleet cohesion and granting some nostalgic rebels by refitting several old ships from the days of the New Republic. The _Ocean_ was a _Viscount _class Star Defender, the only Mon Calamari cruiser designed that, in the days when they were fighting the Empire, was capable of taking on an _Executor _class Super Star Destroyer. Now it was one of the strongest ships in the First Fleet, aside from the _Guardian_, one of the said SSDs that it was able to take on.

"Master Skywalker, Master Sebatyne informs us you have news." Releqy said in cheerful greeting.

Niathal smiled at him.

"Please tell me its good news Master Skywalker. I have spent my morning do the annual fleet inventory and I'm beginning to get X-Wing images implanted on my brain." She begged.

"I'm afraid not." K'Kruhk said.

"And you are?" Releqy asked politely.

"A thousand apologies. My name is K'Kruhk, a Jedi of the Old Republic. It is good to meet you all." He said in greeting.

"And you Master Jedi." Niathal said, while Saba and Releqy inclined their heads respectively.

"So what is the news Master Skywalker?" Releqy asked.

"We were attacked by a Yuuzhan Vong cruiser." He replied darkly.

The effect of this sentence was profound. Saba slammed her tail against the ground and let out a long hiss. Releqy actually retreated back from the holo field and looked tired, drawn and wan all of a sudden. And Niathal leaned forward, her face mottling, her eyes widening.

"You're sure about this?" she demanded.

"Yes. A miid ro'ik cruiser attacked us, and I reckon it has to have been following us because no one should have known where we were." Luke reported.

Releqy exchanged a glance with Niathal.

"What is it?" K'Kruhk asked curiously.

"We have been receiving reports of Vong activity from planets such as Obroa-Skai. While reports are common, there have been a few more than usual. And they have all been in the general direction of Vector Prime. Perhaps the Vong are trying to return home." Niathal pondered.

"Doubtful. They are on Sekot now. What do they have to gain by going back to their own galaxy? Besides they have no world shipz." Saba stated.

"Well they did have that cruiser. And the way the woman in charge spoke, saying the True Yuuzhan Vong, makes me think there could very well be more of them." Luke explained.

"What ships have you had reports of?" K'Kruhk asked.

"Nothing more than a gunship but, if combined with the cruiser that attacked you it could very well be enough to restart the old tensions..." Niathal said darkly.

"...Which could in turn make people feel the Vong War may be restarting..." Releqy continued.

"...And that will be enough to plunge the galaxy back into war and destroy the peace we have been preserving since the end of the Killik War." Saba finished.

"Exactly. We must ascertain the truth of these claims. I will contact Warmaster Choka on Zonama Sekot and see what he has to say about this. But you cannot mention this to anyone. If word gets out, it will create a panic and we'll be right back where we were after we liberated Coruscant." Releqy ordered, and Luke bowed his head.

"No one on board will discuss the events Chief, you can be sure of that. But what will we do if Warmaster Choka doesn't know what the attack was about?" he asked.

"I believe I can send the Third Fleet for a patrol around that area without attracting too much attention. And if you could be so kind, could you please contact Talon Karrde? He usually knows things before we do. Perhaps we can see if these are just rumours and this ship is a loner, or if it is the harbinger of something more serious." Niathal said.

Luke nodded.

"Shall I send a Jedi?" Saba asked Luke, who shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. Seeing the Third Fleet and a Jedi floating about may create a panic that we wish to avoid...particularly since we don't know if this is just one nut job or part of a group." Luke said worriedly.

"If this news gets out, people will be clamouring for the Vong War Round II." K'Kruhk warned.

"Exactly. Keep us informed of any more problems. Thank you for informing us. May the Force be with you." Niathal said, and she and A'kla flickered out.

Saba looked at Luke in amusement.

"One day you will not bring us bad newz whenever you go travelling." She said wryly.

"Will you tell the rest of the Council?" Luke asked, trying to ignore the fact that Saba thought everywhere he went he brought bad news back with him, which was slightly true.

"Yez Master Skywalker, do not worry, I shall once again be the harbinger of doom..." she said, and sissing in laughter, she flickered out.

Luke frowned. The odd Barabel would certainly report to the rest of the Council. But rumours of Vong ships increasing? A rogue Yuuzhan Vong cruiser? Were they jumping at shadows or was something more sinister going on? That Vong woman certainly seemed to have it in for them, and something about the authority, the command in her voice...Luke had a horrid suspicion that that wasn't just a one off event. They would be back. And that thought filled him with dread.

The last Vong War had nearly destroyed the galaxy, nearly killed Mara, nearly prevented Ben from being born, had killed Chewie and Anakin, and according to Leia had totally knackered up the future. He didn't want something like that happening again.

"Do I really always bring bad news?" Luke asked wonderingly as they left the comm suite.

K'Kruhk gave him a funny look, with a twinkle in his eye.

"The news that an R2 unit had a bad motivator changed the entire galaxy young one." He said, and then at Luke's stupefied expression, he started to laugh.

XX

Mirta crouched down on the roof. The team was in position, to distract Leia Solo and Mara Skywalker, because if her grandfather was right, Aurra would lure him and K'Kruhk out. Fett himself would distract Han Solo, and was allowing her to strike the possible killing blow to Aurra Sing. Was he just showing confidence in her abilities? Possibly, but Mirta suspected there was another reason. He did not want to be the one to kill one of the last few remaining links to his past if he could avoid it. Mirta knew bounty hunting gained you few friends, but it seemed as if Aurra had been somewhat of a frenemy and a sort of mother figure to Boba in his early years as a bounty hunter. Mirta pondered her grandfather's last words to her before he had gone off to wait for Solo: 'only take the shot if you _have_ to.'

Sighing, Mirta readied her rifle.

XX

Jacen, Jaina and Ben were walking through the city, looking at the hustle and bustle of the city, while Jacen had Ben point out the various species that were going about, to show how much he had learned.

Jaina then stopped, extending her awareness in the Force.

"Jaina?" Jacen asked, looking at her in concern, and she turned and smiled.

"Do you feel that?" she asked happily.

"What's going on?" Ben asked, a few steps ahead of him, realising his cousins had come to a stop.

His question was then answered as a hairy pair of arms lifted him up and squashed him in a hug.

"What the...? Lowie!" he exclaimed as the large Wookiee put him down and proceeded to wrap Jacen and Jaina in a hug.

As the twins and their Wookiee friend exchanged gleeful greetings, Ben edged back a little bit. He had never had any of the close friendships Jacen and Jaina had had at the academy. They had had their twin bond first, then they had found Lowbacca and Tenel Ka, and Zekk a while later. Ben had never really had any close friends at the academy. Most kids around his age had been too awed of the son of the Skywalkers to do anything other than stare at him, and as he had grown up they had kept their distance, overawed and slightly intimidated by his famous relatives, his father, mother, aunt, uncle and cousins. No one had ever really bonded with Ben, and it was with a heavy heart that Ben realised that the person closest to his age who would actually loosen up and talk around him was Allana.

As Jaina caught Lowie up on what she had been up to, Jacen turned and saw Ben edging away from them a little bit.

"What's wrong buddy?" he asked in concern.

Ben didn't meet his eyes.

"I think I'm just going to go and help Uncle Han with the ship." He said, and turned and headed off, going through the busy square before Jacen could stop him.

"Jacen, what's wrong?" Jaina asked curiously as she and Lowie approached, seeing her brother look worriedly at where Ben was disappearing.

"Ben. I think we made him feel sort of excluded..." Jacen said, feeling slightly guilty.

Lowie wailed, and Jacen nodded.

"I know, you're right. Poor kid has never really had many friends...at least not many his own age. Not like we did."

Jaina looked in concern as to where her cousin was vanishing. Lowie was right, Ben had never really gotten a friend. Poor little guy.

Lowie then tapped Jacen's shoulder, making him stagger, and yowled at him.

"Yeah...I'm fine now...come on, we'll go and explain over a cup of coffee." Jacen said, but then he caught the warning look Jaina was sending him, and he supposed it might be a little difficult to explain to Lowie why their mother and Mara would be having tea with the Dark Lady of the Sith if they saw her.

"On second thoughts, let's go to the shop and get something to eat first." Jaina said, and Lowie shrugged.

"So what are you doing here anyway Lowie?" Jacen asked, still feeling a bit worried about Ben.

Lowie, it transpired, was not here through any choice of his own. After solving a resource dispute on Ventooine, he had hit a micrometeorite shower that had knocked him off course, and he had had to land on Lorrd to effect repairs. When there, he had met Seff Hellin, a younger Jedi, who had been on leave and had decided to take in one of the few sights unmarred by the Vong War.

Just as he finished explaining, Seff himself decided to appear, and he too decided to join them for a bite to eat, with Jacen muttering to Lowie he would explain what was up later.

XX

Darth Rape had landed his modified Starchaser at the spaceport and had familiarised himself with his surroundings. Really, Darth Krush was jumping at shadows. And besides, if he knew Darth Oracle there wouldn't be anything to find anyway, especially, as Rape personally believed, there was nothing to find in the first place.

As Rape strolled through the streets, he extended his awareness. He couldn't sense Aurra Sing, but that didn't surprise him, the assassin was quite good at hiding in the Force. However, he could feel Lumiya, a dark star in the Force, simmering quietly a little bit away, and she seemed to be annoyed with herself. Drawing back before she sensed him (as despite what others said, just because she wasn't a member of the One Sith didn't mean she couldn't crush a fair few of them like gnats), he resigned himself to a long and fruitless wait...until he saw Ben Skywalker, his expression gloomy, walking back to the spaceport with his eyes down and his hands in his pockets. Rape smiled. They boy seemed fairly down, his senses were not where they should be...perhaps this wouldn't be a wasted trip after all...

Putting his hand on his saber, Rape pushed forward and started to close the gap between Ben and himself.

XX

"Well considering one of your oldest friends and one of the members of your council were on the damn thing, which blasted out of Coruscant no less, I expected you to get it without any prompting from me." K'Kruhk said idly as they headed to try and find the others.

"Well you were being deliberately vague...Imperial ship could have been a _Lambda_ class shuttle for heaven's sake!" Luke argued, until he heard the noise of someone crying.

"Hello?" he called, looking down into the alley, which even in the middle of the afternoon was fairly dark and dismal.

There was no response, and K'Kruhk began to get a feeling that he didn't want to know what was down the alleyway.

"Luke, I don't think we should go down there..." he warned, but the younger Jedi ignored him and lit his saber, and K'Kruhk rolled his eyes and followed.

"Jedi help the innocent." Luke said as they progressed down the alley.

"Will it matter at all if I told you I have a bad feeling about this?" K'Kruhk asked, lighting his own saber.

"Not really." Luke said cheerfully.

K'Kruhk sighed, knowing Luke was secretly enjoying this, probably because it made him feel young again.

"I see he's inherited the Skywalker stubbornness..." he cursed, and Luke shot him a dirty look as they reached the end of the alley.

As expected, there was nothing at the end of the alley, which was quite empty aside from a few rats. But, there was still a sound of crying, which was coming from a recorder that was hanging off the wall.

"Oh joy, you've just got us involved in a kidnapping." K'Kruhk said irritably, as Luke reached for the recorder.

Then, K'Kruhk spotted some writing above the recorder.

"'Nashtah'..." he said, just as realisation hit him.

He blasted Luke with a Force push, hurtling the Grand Master out of the alley just as the recorder pulled the fuse out of the bomb and blasted apart the alley, sending K'Kruhk flying in a swirl of fire, rubble and dust.

XX

Abeloth smiled. More company was on the way, the last of those who had visited her sanctum. She wasn't as lonely anymore. Or as hungry.

As she reached out to try to locate her new guests, she could feel someone a fair bit away, a presence she had felt before. She had touched him then, and she missed his reciprocating touch back. Feeling the absence her touch had left, she gently caressed his mind, calling to him.

"_Come back to me little one...we shall be happy...escape the non-believers and return to me..._"

XX

"I must admit, Isard was not the brightest lightsaber in the sheath." Leia said with a laugh.

"Yes...it was the Emperor dying that eighty-sixed her I reckon. She was quite clever before that." Lumiya commented, drinking her brandy.

"Yeah, that and taking the _Lusankya_ off of Coruscant didn't do her any favours either. Unhinged her a bit." Leia agreed.

Lumiya was about to speak again when a blast ripped through the town a few blocks up. As smoke and flame flared into the air, Leia and Mara looked at each other in concern.

"What are the chances of that _not _being related to our husbands or kids?" Leia asked, getting to her feet.

"Non-existent." Mara growled, getting up too.

"I'll go, I can move faster. The one advantage of metallic legs is that you don't get arthritis. Mind and pay the bill!" Lumiya called as she sprinted off, smiling slightly as she felt a bit more Sith like than she had a while ago.

Leia was about to get up when she turned and looked at Mara.

"She just made us get the bill didn't she?" she asked.

"Yep...but she said she had to feel Sithy again after being all girly. Now come on." She ordered, leaving the tip on the table and ordering the cafe owner to watch their bags.

XX

Rape was just about to ignite his saber and plunge it into Ben's back when a blast rocked the street they were on, and a hail of rubble and smoke came flying out into the busy street, now filled with screaming tourists. The force of the blast picked Rape up and he flew and smashed into a fruit stand, while Ben directed the smoke away from the civilians.

"Everybody, get up against the wall now!" Ben ordered, lighting his saber and hoping it would give him a small measure of authority.

The civilians did as instructed and as alarmed guards arrived in the street, looking ashen, Ben pointed him to the dazed civilians.

"Take care of them, I need to go and find everyone!" he snapped, and dashed off.

Leaving Rape to growl, while trying to extricate himself from several pallies.

XX

The blast rocked the town, and Jacen looked around in alarm.

"Ben..." he said, worry filling him. If something happened to him it would be his fault...

"Uncle Luke..." Jaina said in worry, feeling her uncle was a bit dazed.

Lowie howled at them and Seff was already listening in on the police channel.

"Massive explosion...apparently no one hurt, as it was mostly in an alleyway, but there was a lot of ordnance used and it could have trapped people under the rubble." He reported.

"Come on, in case someone's taking a pot shot at uncle Luke." Jaina said, just as police sirens started to wail.

Then, everything that could possibly go wrong in their little portion of the square did. Blasterfire started echoing from the street beside them, signifying nothing but trouble. Lumiya then dashed into the square from that alley and spotted them.

"Jacen, Jaina..." she said, then her eyes widened as Lowbacca gave a ferocious roar, lit his bronze saber and sprang at the Sith Lord.

Lumiya hissed and went for her lightwhip, bringing it up in a parry as she span out of the way of the Wookiee's attack. Lumiya had made an alliance with the invading Nagai not long after the Battle of Endor, and after she had been revealed to the rest of the galaxy, many of the Wookiees believed her to be carrying out her former Imperial master's plans by allying with slavers who attacked their homeworld, even though it was never confirmed she ever had anything to do with it. Added to the fact that she was the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith...

"Lowie, no!" Jaina yelled, her violet lightsaber bursting to life.

Seff looked at the scene in confusion. Jacen and Jaina were defending a Sith? That just wasn't right. But then, he saw that they clearly weren't the real Jacen and Jaina. They were very close copies, but not the real ones. Lumiya and Lowbacca weren't real either. Lighting his saber, he edged closer to them, as Jaina turned to her brother for support.

"Where are the real Jacen and Jaina?" he asked.

The two never heard him as they tried to stop their friend from attacking Not-Lumiya, who was looking murderous.

"Where are they?" Seff demanded and sprang.

"Jacen!" Jaina screeched, and Jacen turned just in time to prevent Seff taking off his head.

"What the hell? Seff, it's us!" Jaina yelled, deciding Lumiya could look after herself and going to help her brother.

"That's right, leave me fending off the large, irate, lightsaber wielding Wookiee! That's it, you just go and have fun now!" Lumiya said bitterly as she cracked her whip at Lowie.

It wasn't that she was worried about Lowie, fierce fighter though he may be. She was concerned though that she would kill him, which she felt would cast something of a pall over their truce. And that didn't suit her plans at all.

Mind you, neither did Seff suddenly attacking Jacen and Jaina, but he had that too. Interesting...something felt odd about the boy, but what?

Deciding to ponder it later, she span out of the way of a high blow Lowie aimed at her and decided to get back to defending herself.

XX

"I...hate...you..." K'Kruhk said as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Jedi do not hate." Luke said, though the wound on his backside was making it difficult not to agree with K'Kruhk.

"Alright, I'll resent you intensely. Come, we must get you out of here my lad. Aurra Sing is back in town." K'Kruhk said, lighting his saber.

"Correct Jedi!" a triumphant voice said from on high, and Luke and K'Kruhk looked upward, sabers raised, to observe the thin, alabaster form of Aurra Sing glaring down at them, two red lightsabers in hand.

"Aurra Sing." K'Kruhk snarled in greeting.

"Well K'Kruhk, we are both getting old. It's been a while. Now...how about you get Skywalker to run away while we take care of business?" Aurra said, flashing her pointed teeth.

"You have hurt innocent people. Stand down bounty hunter and we'll persuade the Galactic Alliance to go easy on you." Luke said.

K'Kruhk sent him a look that plainly said 'really?'. Aurra obviously thought so too, as she gave a cackle, then leapt down at them, her sabers flashing down to end their lives.

XX

Mara and Leia were running to where the sounds of trouble were coming from when a group of six Mandalorians jetted in front of them and raised their blasters.

"Just stay where you are and no one need be hurt." The leader growled.

Mara looked at Leia.

"Which one do you want?" she asked, nodding her head at the group of Mandos.

""I'll take the stupid one who decided to threaten us rather than shoot us while he had the chance." She said, and she and Mara lit their blue sabers and attacked.

XX

Luke and K'Kruhk were forced onto the defensive as Aurra came at them, her sabers singing with deadly menace. The two older Jedi were immediately on the defensive, defending against her attacks. It quickly became clear to Luke that she was trained in the old styles, with moves such as those that he hadn't seen many of since he had faced Vader. She came in hard and fast, forcing the two of them back down the street and into the main square. As Luke danced around an attack, he saw Jacen and Jaina locked in combat with Seff Hellin, and Lowbacca fighting a furious Lumiya. Wondering what the hell they were doing here, Luke blocked the attack from Aurra that came next.

Jacen hammered against Seff's blade, trying to make the younger Jedi see sense.

"Seff, we're Jedi!"

"You're copies! All copies! Where are the real ones?" he yelled, his wild and erratic swinging making it difficult for Jaina to block his attacks.

"We are the real ones!" Jaina grunted, blocking another wild swing.

"Don't lie to me!" Seff hollered, and kicked her to the ground, forcing Jacen to sacrifice his disarming cut to protect his sister from Seff's cut.

Lumiya cracked her whip, forcing Lowie back, but the wily Wookiee was good, she had to give him that. Lowie gave a war cry, and rushed at her, the edges of her whip singing his fur as he charged. Lumiya backflipped to the top of a table and used the Force to throw another one at him, which he cut down before jumping to another table and leaping across at the Sith. Lumiya hissed. It was all very well trying not to kill him but this was getting old. Snarling, Lumiya hoped for the truce's sake that someone came to help soon.

Aurra was like a demon, her two red blades flashing around them, using Djem So to hammer away at their defence. But now, the two older Jedi had the advantage. Coming at her from both sides, they were keeping her at bay, though even for her advanced age her skill was prodigious. Flipping high into the air she came down at them like a mynock, her blades crashing into theirs, knocking K'Kruhk off balance. As the older Jedi staggered, Aurra pressed her advantage against Luke, her red blades flashing. Luke blocked the attacks, thought it was more difficult than he thought it would be. She had an almost animal like ferocity about her that was pushing him back, his green blade a tapestry of light as she pressed her advantage. Smiling sinisterly, Aurra pulled a blade back and Luke readied himself for another onslaught.

"DAD!" Ben yelled, and with his saber in hand, cleared the vast majority of the square in a single leap and crashed his blade into Aurra's.

The bounty hunter snarled as Ben and Luke went at her together, father and son, keeping her off balance and forcing her onto the defensive. The large hairy form of K'Kruhk then arrived, a disapproving look on his face, but nevertheless the three of them started pushing Aurra backwards, and the bounty hunter was beginning to sweat as she was forced to hold the three Jedi off.

Jacen and Jaina were still trying to cope for Seff's mad swings, and the younger Jedi was foolishly backpedalling towards the duel Luke, Ben and K'Kruhk were having with Aurra. The insane Jedi was as much a danger to himself as anyone else, his eyes rolling crazily and shouting that they had all been taken by copies. His madness driven assault was making it harder for even their re-established twin bond to overcome. His blade wasn't letting them through, despite their best efforts.

Lumiya however, had now had enough and was pushing Lowie towards the centre of the square, though the Wookiee, deep in Wookiee battle rage, was pushing at her with all his might. The problem was the Sith Lord was far too powerful for that to work. Her whip was like lightning, singing fur as he was forced back towards the centre with a malevolent look in her eyes.

XX

Han had heard the blast and had rushed out of the hangar, leaving the droids to supervise the engineers. As he had run to the centre of town, past scared looking people and screaming mothers looking for absent kids, he burled down the street, then skidded to a stop as he saw Boba Fett standing right in his path.

"Fett? Aw you gotta be kidding me!" Han protested.

"Solo? Look, you don't want to go up there." He warned.

Han narrowed his eyes at the bounty hunter.

"And why not? What are you up to?" Han demanded.

"I'm not up to anything. But there's a three way lightsaber fight going on up there. Skywalker, his kid and some Whiphid guy against a Jedi killer by the name of Aurra Sing, your kids against some other Jedi kid, and old Lumiya against that Wookiee pal of your kids. I advise you to stay clear." Fett cautioned.

Han reeled. It was typical for Lumiya to be causing trouble, but what was she fighting Lowbacca for? Aurra Sing...he had heard the name when he was a kid during the Clone Wars, and from what he had heard she was a nasty piece of work, and if she was fighting Luke...well she would soon learn that one didn't just challenge the Grand Master. And as for the one Jacen and Jaina were fighting...

"I'm going." Han said, and shoved past Fett, headed to the centre of the square.

Fett shook his head and rocketed up to where Mirta was waiting, sniper rifle at the ready.

"You reckon she can do it?" Mirta asked sceptically, as she watched Aurra duelling her three opponents.

"I hope so..." Fett said, his voice tight, which his granddaughter chose to ignore.

XX

Leia blasted her last one with a Force push, while Mara chopped the arms off of her last one, dropping him to the ground, screaming in pain. Leaving the battered, bruised and maimed Mandalorians were they were, the two women dashed up the road just in time.

XX

Aurra angled her blades, then shoved away at Luke, making the man stagger, before she brought up a long, thin leg into Ben's head and sent him sprawling. K'Kruhk gave a growl and came in at her, his heavy blade coming down to cleave off her arms. Aurra gave a cackle and sprang into the air, her boot catching the elder Jedi Master in the mouth and sending him crashing to the floor. Aurra landed catlike in between the fight with Seff, Jacen and Jaina and with a wicked grin, she blocked the three of them just as Luke came at her. Shunting her weight into Jacen, she sent the Jedi falling to the ground. Aurra twirled, quickly blocked Seff's hack, and she then brought her own blade up...right through Jaina's wrist. Jaina screamed as her hand flew off, and then Jacen screamed in unison, bound by the power of their twin bond. Aurra laughed, then flipped to the top of the building, just as Seff raised his blade to finish off Jacen. Lumiya's whip cut in to Lowbacca's leg, and the Wookiee fell to the floor, and the Sith prepared to end the Wookiee, truce or not. Aurra then saw Luke and K'Kruhk struggle to their feet and with a cry of gleeful triumph she threw herself off the building towards them, her sabers angled to take their heads.

"No!" Han yelled as he arrived and fired several shots at her, which she casually reflected just as Seff swung his blade to kill Jacen, who was struggling to pick up his lightsaber in his numbed hand.

Seff then was blasted across the square, crashing into the wall as the red headed form of Mara leapt at him, her blade slamming into his, and allowing Jacen to get to his sister who was curled up on the floor.

Leia then deflected Lumiya's whip on her saber, making the Sith snarl in rage. Lowie went for his fallen saber, but Leia flicked it away with the Force, ignoring Lowie's betrayed roar as she saw Aurra get within striking distance of Luke and K'Kruhk. Aurra cackled madly, but then a burly teenager leapt off of an awning, flying through the air as he did so. The next thing they heard was laughter turning into a scream as two orange clad legs came off and a long, thin white arm fell to the ground, and Aurra's maimed body toppled to the floor, and rolled to a stop. Ben landed beside her and summoned Aurra's remaining saber to him and pointed the two blades at her neck, as she looked up at him in shock.

Mara blocked Seff's heavy handed, erratic attack.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" she demanded.

Lumiya looked over at the fight, and rolled her eyes. Taking a shocker off her belt, she fired, and the electric rod punctured Seff's skin, sending electricity through his body, making him scream as he dropped to the floor, unconscious.

And with that, the square was quiet again, with people looking on in shock.

"Jaina..." Jacen said, looking terrified as he lifted his sister to her feet, with her whimpering as he did so.

"Jaina." Leia said worriedly as she and Han rushed to their daughter.

Lowie howled from the ground, demanding an explanation, but he went ignored as Luke and K'Kruhk headed towards Ben and Aurra and Lumiya headed over to Mara and Seff.

"What happened to him?" Lumiya asked curiously.

"I don't know..." Mara said in grave concern, before she rushed towards her niece.

"Well done Ben. I owe you one." Luke said breathlessly, patting his son's shoulder.

"Unorthodox. But it worked. Well done young one." K'Kruhk said as he glared down at Aurra who was writhing in pain with her remaining limb.

The Jedi Master kept his blade at Aurra's throat, while Ben and Luke rushed over to Jaina.

"Oh god..." Ben said, as he saw the stump.

"Oh, that looks nasty." Lumiya commented idly as she joined them.

"You'll be ok sweetie, we'll just get you to a medcentre." Han soothed as she cried onto Jacen's shoulder.

"Right, time to divide and conquer. Jacen, take Jaina to the centre. Han, you take Lowie, Lumiya, make yourself useful and take Seff there. Mara, you deal with the locals, you lot interrogate your bounty hunter friend." Leia ordered, and followed her son and barely conscious daughter towards the medcentre. Lumiya heaved Seff up with a lot of grumbling, while Han helped Lowie to his feet and half dragged him off.

Ben and Luke returned to K'Kruhk.

"Now Aurra...who hired you?" the Whiphid demanded, and despite the pain she was in, Aurra snorted.

"I'm not telling you anything Jedi." She spat.

Luke glared down at her.

"Look bounty hunter, my niece is now handless because of you and whatever the hell you were doing here. So tell us who hired you." He demanded.

"Go to hell." Aurra said, rolling her head as though drunk.

Ben growled, and reached out with the Force.

"You _will _tell us who hired you." Ben said, and Aurra looked at him blankly. Then she burst into pain filled hysterics

"Did you think that would work?" Luke said sceptically as Mara joined them.

"No...but if we all work together..." Ben said suggestively.

K'Kruhk nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed...indeed...Master Windu once did the same thing with Cad Bane."

As so, the four of them stretched out with the Force and brought it to bear against Aurra's mind.

"You _will _tell us."

They could feel her struggling, so they repeated the process, and she gave a cry.

XX

"Now?" Mirta asked.

Fett looked down at the struggling form of Aurra Sing and with a twinge of regret, he nodded.

XX

"You _will _tell us!"

Aurra screamed and started to pant heavily.

"Alright. Alright...just stop! It was..." she began, when a sniper round created a small circle in her head and she moved no more, blood seeping onto the pavement.

The group burled around to see a Mandalorian rocket up into the air. The other one lowered their head to the dead body, then followed.

"Was that Boba Fett?" Mara demanded incredulously.

"Yes. But why would he and his accomplice kill Aurra Sing? Most mysterious..." K'Kruhk said worriedly, looking at Aurra's body.

"What does it mean?" Ben asked in confusion.

"I do not know my lad. But I should very much like to find out." K'Kruhk said, stroking his chin in thought.

Luke nodded to the security staff and motioned for them to deal with Aurra.

"Come on, let's go check on the others."

XX

Mirta shot her grandfather a questioning look as they quickly made tracks away from the planet. With the entire city in an uproar because of the duel that had occurred in the centre of the town, the Trak'ad and _Slave I _had managed to get out of Lorrd without being questioned, as their security forces were more concerned with clearing up the mess of the duel, and none of the Mandalorians they had taken with them had been critical so, showing their true Mando toughness they had clambered aboard the ship and had made for space. And now, Fett wasn't saying anything, he was just looking out the viewport as Mirta piloted the ship. He regretted the necessity of having to kill Aurra. Maybe the famed bounty hunter was getting too old for this. Or maybe he was just regretful of having lost another link to his past.

Sighing, Mirta took them to lightspeed, and safety.

XX

A few hours later, Jaina had a prosthetic hand, and was getting the hand of it while they discussed the days events. They had agreed that Aurra was definitely sent to kill K'Kruhk but why they couldn't fathom. Lowie had been furious about the continued presence of Lumiya, but Luke had refused to let her out of their sight and into the streets just in case she caused the chaos she was so good at causing. They had explained that her presence was necessary for their mission, which they hadn't gone into specifics about, but he had still showed his disapproval and spent his time in the hospital bed glaring at her while she read a gossip magazine and his wounds were attended to.

However, no one could explain what had happened to Seff. Luke and Mara were both stumped, there was no history of mental illness in his family, and as she had been busy duelling Lowie, Lumiya couldn't have done anything either. However, K'Kruhk had then examined Seff and had felt an odd presence about him.

"There's something odd deep within him..." he said curiously.

Luke and Lumiya, both bound by their curiosity, though Lumiya's was purely professional, went forward and guided by K'Kruhk to touch the strange thing on Seff's psyche.

"What's that?" Lumiya asked in surprise.

The strange touch was odd. It felt sort of like a sticky, tar like substance that had latched on to the lattice that was Seff's brain. It felt otherworldly, feminine...and Luke didn't like it one little bit.

"I don't know, but it can't be good whatever it is... You don't think?" Luke asked, looking at K'Kruhk.

The Whiphid nodded concedingly.

"It could very well be Abeloth. However, I am good at basic healing only. Perhaps when Lowie takes young Seff here back to Coruscant, Master Cilghal will be able to discover more about this."

As Jaina broke in her new hand in a game of catch with Jacen, she looked slightly mistrusting, as if she didn't trust in herself anymore, and as a result, dropped the ball several times.

"Do not worry young Jaina. Once we are back on the ship, I shall fix soon get you back into the swing of things with some _proper_ saber exercises." K'Kruhk promised.

Jacen looked at him in surprise.

"What deficiency? Jaina's good at duels." He said, defending his sister.

K'Kruhk shook his head.

"Yes, but not compared to the old masters. Never fear young Jacen, all shall be revealed soon." K'Kruhk promised with a twinkle in his eye.

Jacen was about to argue, when Han saw the warning signs, and eager to get things moving again now the ship was repaired, he looked at Jaina.

"You heard from Jag where Alema is heading?" he asked curiously.

Jaina nodded. She had taken the loss of her hand very well considering the circumstances, thought both Leia and Jacen could see that her confidence had been shaken. True, it had been a while since any of them had fought a proper duel, and Jaina was entitled to be a little rusty, but the loss of her hand here had nearly gotten both her and Jacen killed as a result of their twin bond immobilising the two of them. Ben looked slightly guilty every time he looked at her hand, as if he blamed himself for what had happened to his cousin.

"Yeah. I got a message from him saying she was headed to Tatooine and asking me to meet him there." She explained, with a look of resentment on her face.

"What, Tatooine? Aw come on!" Luke moaned, while Mara smiled.

"Bloody Tatooine. Who'd have thought that such a pokey little backward planet could cause so much trouble?" Lumiya asked snarkily from behind her magazine.

"What's wrong with Tatooine?" Jaina asked, scowling at the datapad she was checking her mail on.

"Both Luke and his father came from there and look what that did to the galaxy." She replied tartly, and Han sniggered, while Luke shot her a dirty look and made a rude hand gesture.

"I saw that." She said, and Luke scowled and lowered his hand.

"So Tatooine it is then. Can we all be ready to go in three hours?" Han asked hopefully, and after receiving their assent, he headed off to inspect the _Falcon_.

Lumiya lowered her magazine and stood up and stretched, while Ben went and sat beside Jaina.

"I'm sorry Jaina." He said sadly.

"It's not you I'm mad at, it's Jag." She said, looking up from her pad irritably.

"I know, I meant about your hand." Ben said, and she looked at him curiously.

"Ben it isn't your fault! You couldn't have done anything. If anything, we're all proud of you, after all, you're the one who stopped her!" Jaina said.

"I still feel like I could have done more..." Ben said sadly, but Jaina shook her head.

"No Ben. This isn't your fault, ok?" she said, and Ben reluctantly nodded.

"What does it feel like?" Ben asked curiously.

"Sort of like I'm wearing a rubber glove, and one thats got chilli around the edge at that. The doctors and your dad say that fades and it'll feel just like a normal hand eventually." She said, waving it around.

"Count your blessings. At least yours was only one hand. Mines was the entire shebang." Lumiya said with a wicked grin as she swept out of the hospital.

Luke, who was following her, turned and gave Jaina a sour look.

"I swear, if you join forces with her and start picking on me about absent hands, you'll walk the rest of the way." He said grumpily, and Jaina and Ben laughed.

XX

Lumiya prowled through the streets, searching for something. The appearance of Aurra Sing had been a surprise. Her assassination at the hands of Boba Fett was even more of a mystery. However, while Luke and the others remained clueless as to who was the true threat behind the bounty hunters, Lumiya was not quite so ignorant. She knew the One Sith were behind it. But, who was Sing's original target? Skywalker? K'Kruhk? Or her? Either way, Krayt's band of thugs had to be stopped before they meddled with her plans.

As such, she swept down a back alley, confident none of her companions were following her. Jaina was going through some more tests at the medcentre, Jacen and Ben were helping that bloody Wookiee to get Seff onto Lowie's shuttle, Leia and Mara were finishing their shopping, K'Kruhk was away to send a comm call and Luke was helping Han with the ship. Leaving Lumiya alone to deal with other matters.

She saw him heading to another side of the spaceport, and as he approached, she stepped out and dragged him into the alley, using the Force to disguise her movements so as not to arouse suspicion. She grabbed the Nikto by the arm and shoved him against the wall.

"Who are you?" she demanded irritably.

"Lumiya! I...I am Darth Rape." He said, smoothing his robes.

Lumiya raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here? What the hell is Krayt up to? Is he trying to get us caught?" she demanded angrily.

"No my lady, I swear! Lord Krayt had nothing to do with the bounty hunters. Lord Wyyrlok hired Sing to kill the Whiphid. Darth Oracle had a vision of he and Lord Krayt fighting, and apparently Lord Krayt wasn't winning."

Lumiya rolled her eyes in frustration. This fanaticism for Krayt was dangerous for anyone, but even more so for a group of Sith pretenders. And Darth Oracle was a nuisance. Her visions had a habit of coming about at the worst possible moment. And Wyyrlok, well the less said about him the better.

"So Wyyrlok hired Sing...who hired Fett?" she asked.

Rape rolled his eyes, knowing full well he shouldn't be talking to this Sith, but not having much choice. And he also knew she wouldn't think much of his answer either.

"Darth Oracle hired Fett to make sure Sing didn't talk if she failed, which she had a vision of occurring."

Lumiya growled. Bloody prophets should just keep their prophetic visions to themselves, everyone would be so much happier.

"Of course she did. Good thing she did then, or otherwise you lot would have been revealed. But that is besides the point...so why are you here?" she demanded, not seeing any reason for Krayt to risk exposure by sending one of his goons out into civilisation.

"Lord Krush sent me here." Rape said stiffly.

Lumiya pondered.

"Krush? Krush...the Vurk nutter?" she asked, and took a small bit of pleasure from the stiffening of Rape's posture as she described his boss as that.

"Yes, Lord Krayt's Hand. You see, he hates Lady Oracle and wanted evidence that she was acting against Darth Krayt. He wants to replace her you see. But she actually wasn't doing anything wrong, though if I told him she still believes Krayt might die then he might say that's bad enough." Rape said dismissively.

Lumiya shook her head. This One Sith business was dangerous, full stop. Too many fanatics all too loyal to that idiot Krayt...it was a recipe for disaster.

"Well you can return to Korriban then boy. And tell Krayt and his band...do not risk exposure again. There is far more going on here than their tiny minds can grasp but if they do anything to jeopardise my plans, their torment shall be legendary. And no more wasted trips. Go, now!" she barked, and Rape bowed respectively.

"Of course Lady Lumiya. But it wouldn't have been a wasted trip if that idiot Sing hadn't used a bomb. Good day." Rape said, and started to head out of the alley, but Lumiya's curiosity got the better of her.

"How?"

Rape smiled, showing pointed teeth.

"I nearly had Ben Skywalker in my grasp. If that bomb hadn't gone off...he'd be dead."

He began to walk again, when he gagged and suddenly saw a beam of scarlet sticking out of his stomach. Lumiya had just impaled him with his own saber.

"Of all the crass, misconceived ideas Rape...idiot. No Sith is to touch Ben Skywalker other than me. No one." She growled, and his body fell to the floor.

She then used the Force to raise his dead body into a dumpster, and then pondered what to do with the saber. Really, the One Sith were just enormous thorns in her side. However, she needed them for the moment. But the day when she would be rid of them...that would be the day.

Walking back the long way to the hanger the _Falcon_ was in, she grunted in exasperation. Krayt's Sith were a pain in the backside. At least Vongerella was mildly predictable. The sooner her plan came to fruition the better. Speaking of which, it was time to get to work on that. Dismantling the saber as she walked, she took the crystals outside of the hilt and placed them in a secret compartment on her arm for use later on. Then she disposed of the several different parts in different bins across the city before she came to the _Falcon_. No trace. Excellent.

Now, on to the biggest part of her plan.

XX

After bidding Lowie goodbye, and giving him enough sedative to get Seff to Coruscant, everyone gathered on the ship. K'Kruhk seemed mildly worried by the comm call he had made, and Lumiya seemed slightly exasperated about something. Meanwhile, Ben was still feeling guilty because of what had happened to Jaina's hand. Luke knew it was just because he was young rather than him actually having anything to be guilty about. However, it was a bit of a worry with Lumiya floating around.

The _Falcon_ swept away from Lorrd just as reports came in from the ground of a body being found in a dumpster. However, by that time, Han had set the ship for Tatooine, and took it to lightspeed.

As night came to the ship, things were quiet. K'Kruhk was playing Galactic Risk with Mara, and Mara was currently thrashing him with her Separatist fleet, with his Republic fleet only having about three Star Destroyers and a few Jedi left. Han and Leia were watching a holovid, while Luke read over some reports he had gotten from Kam Solusar, who was leading the Order in his absence. Lumiya was in the quarters, dictating a very annoyed message for Krayt to receive after they left lightspeed. And Ben was in the cargo hold, doing a workout.

Meanwhile Jacen and Jaina were in the med room, talking.

"He feels guilty? If anyone should feel guilty it's me." Jacen said grimly, but Jaina shook her head.

"It's no one's fault. Makes you wonder if old K'Kruhk is right though doesn't it?" she asked.

"About us not being as good as the old masters? I suppose, compared to some of the old Jedi, you know, Yoda, Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, we probably aren't that good." Jacen reasoned.

"you reckon he can fix that? According to him we've all picked up bad habits." Jaina said disdainfully, flexing her new hand,

"Maybe. He'll have a damn good try at fixing it. How you getting on with that?" he asked, indicating her hand.

"It's starting to feel a bit more normal now, but it still feels, I don't know...cold. Uncle Luke says that'll fade though." She said, looking at her right metallic hand ponderingly.

She then smiled and looked at him.

"You should be proud of Ben." She said.

"I am. Really proud. He's coming on so fast..." Jacen said fondly, smiling a little at how impressive their cousin had been today.

Jaina grinned.

"Then you might have to knight him fast." She said with a grin, but saw Jacen look slightly down at that prospect so desisted.

"What do you think of a new apprentice?" Jacen asked curiously.

At that moment, Ben walked past the door, and stopped when he heard those words. Did Jacen want a new apprentice? Did he want rid of him? No, Jacen wouldn't...but maybe all the fights with his father had gotten to him, maybe his dad had told Jacen to stop him being Ben's master. Giving the door to the med bay a betrayed look, he scurried off.

Jaina recovered enough to answer her brother's question.

"What? You offering me Ben?" she asked curiously, and Jacen shook his head adamantly.

"No way. He's mine." He said firmly, and Jaina smiled at how close her brother was to their cousin.

"Alright, then who?" Jaina asked, wondering why Jacen had brought it up.

He smiled.

"Well, Tenel Ka and I had a talk when we were on Hapes, and we decided that when Allana needs to be trained...you should be the one to do it." He said with a grin.

Jaina's jaw dropped and then she hugged her twin in delight.

"Of course I'll teach Allana, I'd love to!" she exclaimed, kissing her brother's cheek.

"Thought you might." Jacen said with a smile, and then dragged his excited sister through to the lounge, chattering away about what she could teach Allana.

XX

Lumiya finished compiling her message, and looked up to see an annoyed Ben stomping past.

"Ben? At the risk of boring myself, you don't seem very happy, so what's up?" she said.

Ben looked up and down the corridor, then sighed and entered the crew quarters, where she was sitting on her bed.

"It's Jacen. I overheard him talking to Jaina, asking about a new apprentice." He said in a sad voice.

This was a surprise. Jacen seemed devoted to teaching Ben. Why would he suddenly change his mind? Unless Ben had gotten it wrong...but if he hadn't things might be a little bit easier...

"Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?" Lumiya asked him lightly.

"Says the former spy." Ben retorted, and Lumiya was glad she wore her veil, it hid her smile.

"Alright, point taken. Oh very well. I shall help, just this once. If only because I don't want to spend the rest of the trip with a moody, hormonal male." She said scathingly, and Ben, knowing full well she was referring to him, decided to turn it on her.

"Don't worry, aunt Leia is quite good at keeping uncle Han in line." He said with a grin, and he felt slightly pleased when her veil twitched, indicating a smile.

"Very well. Sit with me." She said, knowing her plan was about to go into motion.

Ben looked at her mistrustingly, but when Lumiya pointed with her hand, he shrugged and sat down beside her. After all, what could she do with his parents only about two metres away, if that?

"Close your eyes...empty your mind, put your thoughts away into a secluded corner of your brain and empty it totally...now, imagine the sandy dunes of Tatooine, the sand gently blown by the wind into graceful spirals...imagine the tranquillity of the gardens of Hapes, the gentle lick of water against the shore...now, feel the ship round about you, underneath the metal, the minds of those you know and love, their thoughts as they think them..."

Ben listened intently to Lumiya's voice, soft and sleepy sounding, but he was still wide awake. He did what she asked, knowing he would probably get into trouble for this later, but he also felt strangely calm as he did it, and began to feel as she said, hearing what she wanted him to hear...

"_What the hell? I have one _Consular_ cruiser left and one _Pelta_ frigate...how the hell is she doing this? And only one Jedi, who is it...Master Zao? Oh, what good is he going to be against General Grievous and his army and fleet? I can't believe this, I'm losing to a novice._" Came K'Kruhk's thoughts, but sounding as if he saw speaking in some large cave, on the opposite side form Ben.

"_If this is how he fought in the Clone Wars, no wonder he survived so long. The Separatists must have taken pity on him_." Mara's amused thoughts said.

"_Why does she insist on making me watch these soppy romance movies? I'm a good person, what did I do to deserve it? And whatever she thinks I might have done, I'm sure it wasnt my fault_." Han's thoughts echoed, and Ben had to suppress a smile.

"_Ha, break my vase will you? I'll get you. So now you can watch this with me for a change rather than going to the pub with Luke, Lando, Wedge, Corran and Tycho like you normally do_." Leia's triumphant thoughts said.

"_Tionne has registered some concern over some teenage students not doing their studies...I'm more concerned about a Jedi randomly going mad. I hope this isn't about Abeloth, because if it is a lot of Jedi could be in danger, not to mention the public_." Luke's thoughts sounded troubled.

"_He wants me to teach Allana! I can't believe it. I wonder what I should start with when I start to teach her..._" Jaina's elated thoughts were like a foghorn.

"_Offering you Ben? As if. He's my apprentice, and if the two of us have our way, he isn't going anywhere._" Jacen said certainly, and Ben smiled and opened his eyes.

"Well done, I'm impressed. You performed quite well." Lumiya said with a slight smile.

"Thanks. Why can't I read Artoo and Threepio?" Ben asked curiously.

"The Force cannot be used on such things as droids...they will exist, but cannot be felt, much like your uncle, cousin and I's prosthetics. They cannot feel or utilise the Force, hence they are blind to it."

Ben nodded in understanding.

"You did very well. However, it might be best if we keep this our little secret. If your mother found out I was teaching you anything she would go nuts. Force-related things may get me thrown out the airlock." Lumiya said drily, as Ben stood.

"Yeah sure. Thanks Lumiya." He said, and smiled at her.

"You're welcome. Did you find anything about Jacen and his new apprentice?" Lumiya asked curiously.

"Yeah, I got it wrong. He was asking Jaina to teach Allana, that's all." He said with a grin, and waved to her as he left.

Lumiya pondered this. A pity Jacen wasn't trying to get rid of Ben, but it was far from essential. It would have been an added bonus that was all. Not to worry. But, now she had fertilised her soil. It was only a matter of time before things started to grow. Smiling, she went into a meditation.

XX

Tavira slumped down on the bed, exhausted. It had been a hard day, but she had finally done what the Sith witch wanted. She had gotten Lumiya new _Imperial_ class Star Destroyer, by the name of _Leviathan_. The benefits of the Corporate Sector were many it seemed, as were the credits in Lumiya's accounts. That should keep the old bat happy.

Tavira smiled tightly. She couldn't help but think of Lumiya as older, even though she was probably a couple of years younger. Just something about her manipulative personality.

Valek however was a different story. After she had procured the Star Destroyer, and he had alerted Wethen and sent a message to Lumiya he had relaxed slightly, his mission accomplished. And that allowed Tavira to eye up the various pirate groups that were floating around. She had no intention of serving Lumiya any longer than necessary. As soon as she found a way out she would take it. But to ascertain her escape, she would need more firepower than just the _Invidious_ or else Lumiya's fleet would flatten it before it could go to lightspeed. As such, she had seen the Xarback Pirate gang had recently lost their top members. Valek seemed quite content to allow her to talk to pirate groups, especially when they bought him drinks as he was technically now off duty, despite having to watch Tavira. And that had allowed her to sound out support and plant some seeds of loyalty which she was sure would soon sprout. However, in the morning Valek would insist on going back to the fleet. That did not suit her plans.

But she had something that did. Looking in the mirror, she saw with satisfaction that she was still a very attractive woman. Valek was much the same age as her. He'd had a few drinks, and she knew he had looked at her appraisingly when the two would go out for a drink after a day of looking for ships for Lumiya. She found him to be old fashioned and gentlemanly, but loyal to the Sith. But, things could always change. And he had had a few more drinks today than usual...

Admiring herself, she decided she could do worse. And it wouldn't be the first time she had slept with someone for her own personal gain. After all, that was how she had convinced Teradoc to give her the _Invidious _in the first place...that along with wiping out a group of pirates who had smacked one of his convoys.

Smiling, she got a bottle of wine from the cooler, and headed to see Valek.

XX

Vongerella smiled as the looked at all the villips awaiting her order. Her lieutenant, Draik Carr, bowed to her as he approached.

"Domina, the _Pitiless_ has arrived. That's all of our gunships returned." He reported.

"Did we lose any?" she asked.

"Of course not lady. They were very stealthy." He said, smiling at the competence of his fellow warriors.

"Excellent. What news do they bring?" she asked.

"The nearest concentration of Alliance forces is the shipyards at Bilbringi. That, and the shipyards at Yaga Minor are the nearest heavy capital ships that might respond should they hear of our attack. However, there are rumours that the Alliance Third Fleet is going to be patrolling the area soon."

Vongerella bit back a curse. Her attack on the _Falcon_ must have been reported to Niathal. But not to worry. It wouldn't upset her plans that much if everything went to plan.

"Thank you warrior. Activate villips." She ordered, a smile coming on to her face.

Events were on the move. Now, they would take back the galaxy for the Yuuzhan Vong.

Various faces of her commanders appeared before her, and her smile broadened. It was time.

"Gentlemen, the time is upon us. The foolish infidels will soon learn of their folly. Our time is now. So, here are your launch marks and locations." She said, and the information was generated to each cruiser in her sizeable fleet.

"_Do-ro'ik Vong pratte!_" she cried, and they repeated her cry and the villips closed.

Vongerella then looked out of the viewing bubble, as the _Embrace of Darkness_, her first Kor Chokk cruiser, flickered then vanished, bound for Avidich.

The _Harla's Will_ then followed, on course for Cam'co. The _Yammka's Revenge_ left next, headed for Chaf. The _Ne'Shel's Creation_ then headed for Pesvari. Finally, her last Kor Chokk, the _Shuno's Mercy_ vanished, this time headed for Rhigar.

Her three Ro'ik chuun m'arhs then started moving into position. The _Pain of Loss _headed towards Copero, while the _Devoid of Life_ went to Sarvchi and the _Place of Guilt_ disappeared, headed for Thrago.

Her three Uumufalh gunships next moved out. The _Merciless _left for Sharb, while the _Unrelenting _moved for Ool and finally the _Pitiless _flashed off, bound for Noris.

And that left her Miid Ro'ik cruisers left. The _Screaming Void _left for Ornfra, the _Infinite Pain_ for Schesa, the _Vengeful Slayer _headed towards Kinoss, the _Chaotic Silence_ flashed towards Csaus, the _Deity Command_ went for Yashuvhu, the _Infidel Reckoning _moved for Shihon and the _Chosen Heir_ headed for Tenupe.

Leaving only her own ship, the _Dark Emissary_ and her worldship, the _Baanu Venxis_.

"Alert the worldship. Set your course for Csilla." She ordered, excitement building in her as she did so.

The Vong were about to take back the galaxy. Beginning with the Chiss Ascendancy. Their new weapon would make sure of that...and that they weren't interrupted.

And with that, the two ships lanced into lightspeed, Vongerella's laughter filling the bridge as they did so.

**Hello again! It's been a while, so I thought I'd update Fate of the Force.**

**Aurra Sing is at last dead. Is Boba Fett perhaps getting too old for this? Are the One Sith really as different as Krayt think they are? Jaina has lost her hand, Ben has received a lesson from Lumiya. Now what is she up to? Especially since her fleet has now grown to include a Star Destroyer and an Interdictor. What will Krayt think of the death of Darth Rape?**

**But more to the point...the Chiss Ascendancy is in grave danger. Apologies for the length of the last bit but I felt I should show what exactly we were dealing with when it comes to Vongerella's fleet. Will the Chiss survive? What will happen next?**

**Next time, we see everyone's favourite dustball Tatooine. Our bounty hunter friends return, as does Jag, and something Luke might recognise from his youth... Along with that, we see how Master Vos is doing on Abeloth's world, an old foe who I'm sure you can figure out, Krayt makes a move, and last but not least we see some familiar faces at Csilla. What will happen next?**

**Until next time and you find out, please read and review!**


	9. Episode II: Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

"I appreciate that Dr Quee, but I was actually wondering if Warmaster Choka knew of any other Vong forces that might not have followed the Sekot Accords." Releqy said as she observed the hologram of Danni Quee.

She had been a very instrumental scientist during the Yuuzhan Vong War, and had been one of the first to encounter the Vong themselves when Belkadan had been destroyed by Yomin Carr during the invasion of the Praetorite Vong. Now, she was one of the liaisons and unofficial Alliance operatives on Zonama Sekot who kept a watchful eye on the Vong on Sekot.

Releqy had called her to see if Nas Choka, the Vong warmaster, knew anything of the ship that had attacked Master Skywalker. Also present was the two Masters Solusar, as Kam was the acting Grand Master while Luke was away on this mysterious mission of his. Along with Kam and Tionne, Cilghal and Kyp Durron were also present representing the Jedi Council in this meeting and also to give Releqy benefit of their reading people abilities, especially since they all knew Danni from the war. Also present was the Falleen Jedi Natua Wan, who may also lend some help in such a capacity and Sothais Saar, who had a meeting with Admirals Niathal and Bwua'tu later on who Releqy had consented to stay in to observe the meeting.

"I asked Warmaster Choka Chied A'kla, but he insists that everything he can think of was destroyed during the Sekot Accords. Though he does not rule out the possibility of there having been some Tsavong Lah loyalists who refused to follow his commands." Danni said, her eyes looking worried.

Releqy nodded.

"Thank you Dr Quee. If anything comes to you, anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact me." She said, and Danni inclined her head and her holo shimmered out.

Releqy sighed and looked at the Jedi present.

"What is your read on the situation?" she asked grimly.

Kyp pushed his long hair behind his ear and looked grave.

"Well I reckon Danni was telling the truth as far as she knew it...and maybe as far as Nas Choka knows it. If what Master Skywalker said is true, and that this commander was the lover of Onimi and knew his true identity as the Supreme Overlord, then the possibility of this fleet being secret, much like Grand Admiral Thrawn was a secret, can't be ruled out."

Releqy frowned.

"Admiral Niathal has received reports from various locations reporting Vong ship sightings, and there are slightly more than the usual cranks we get. Admiral Pellaeon also registered the fact that a Vong gunship was seen floating around Yaga Minor. I do not like this my friends. These sightings could be the precursors of another Vong attack, and if so, the galaxy will not be fobbed off by a peace treaty this time, they will join in with Reh'mwa's faction of Bothans and want them all exterminated." She said darkly.

She was of course referring to the radical wing of Bothans that had declared ar'krai on the Vong following the death of Borsk Fey'lya during the Fall of Coruscant, and they had vowed not to stop until the Yuuzhan Vong were all but extinct.

"Then we must ascertain what is really going on...rogue ship or signs of a rogue fleet, we need to be certain. Only when we know the full truth about this phantom threat can we act accordingly." Tionne said.

"If I may Chief A'kla, there is a another reason that I am present. We received a disturbing report from Master Skywalker, indicating that a young Jedi inexplicably went insane on Lorrd. As I haven't had the chance yet to examine the poor soul, we must assume that it might have spread. This may seem premature, but insane Jedi could very well pose a serious risk..." Cilghal explained.

Releqy frowned.

"Is he alright?" she asked in concern.

"Yes, Mara subdued him, however if she hadn't...there could very well have been fatalities. I'll know more once I've examined young Seff." Cilghal said, and Releqy nodded, then turned and stood to face outside of her window.

"Strange Vong ship sightings...a young Jedi going insane...and Master Skywalker off on a mysterious mission. All very strange occurrences." She summed up, then turned to favour Natua with a smile.

"Well Jedi Wan, excuse me for the time that took...but I believe you have a suggestion for the ReCon Authority?" she asked as she sat back down.

The Reconstruction Authority was a task force dedicated to repairing the damage done by the Vong War, and for this group in particular, resettling species that had lost their homes due to the Vong attack, such as the Ithorians. Natua, since becoming a Jedi Knight, had become a fierce advocate of this, and thought she had found a new way to speed up terraforming processes, so had asked the masters if she could accompany them to visit Chief A'kla, who was always delighted to receive Jedi visitors.

"Thank you Chief A'kla. I came across several mentions of Telos being destroyed by orbital bombardment millennia ago. At the time, the Ithorians were able to slowly recreate Telos. As a result, I was wondering if the same thing could perhaps be done now, with the Ithorians guiding the Yuuzhan Vong, perhaps under Jedi supervision, to recreate devastated worlds." She said.

The masters looked at each other in shock. Natua hadn't told any of them what her proposal was, and this was certainly a bold one. Releqy recovered from this little bombshell by steepling her fingers in front of her snout.

"An unorthodox suggestions Master Jedi. However, I can't see too many people being thrilled with the very same people who destroyed their world in the first place being used to help rebuild it." She said, and Kam nodded, looking pensive.

"May I speak Chief A'kla?" Sothais asked.

Releqy smiled up at the Chev Jedi.

"Of course."

"Well while it does sound relatively preposterous," he said, and winced from the look of outrage on Natua's face, "I do think it has some merit. The Ithorians can work wonders, and combined with the Vong terraforming it may very well be feasible to give such a suggestion a trial run. People would be annoyed at first, but if the Alliance could ride out the storm and show the results...worlds would be clamouring for such an endeavour." He said, and Cilghal and Tionne both nodded, while Kyp had to shake himself slightly, as the Chev's slow voice was enough to send the entire Council to sleep on a warm day. Natua smiled at her companion and passed a datacard over to Releqy.

"I have done some reading and research that might be useful..." she said, and her usually green skin went yellow, the sign of a blush.

"An intriguing proposition Master Wan. Thank you for bringing it to my attention." Releqy said, smiling at the Jedi as the masters got ready to leave, and Sothais got ready to head to his meeting with Admiral Niathal and Bwua'tu, who he was informing on Hutt slaving routes that went through Alliance space so Niathal could try to crack down on them as well as the pirate groups she had been chasing recently.

Natua then looked around. Something wasn't right. Although the kindly Caamasi behind the desk did seem to be Releqy A'kla, she clearly wasn't. Neither were Kam, Tionne, Cilghal, Kyp and Sothais the real versions either. Something was wrong. They had been kidnapped. She had to find out where they were. And she doubted these copies would prove helpful without some motivation.

"Kam..." Tionne said warningly, and Natua lit her saber and swung it at Kyp.

Kyp immediately jumped away from the attack while Kam vaulted over the desk and forced a yelping Releqy from her chair to the floor, while Tionne and Cilghal lit their lightsabers.

"Natua, what are you doing?" Cilghal demanded as Kyp lit his own blade, while Sothais looked to the masters in shocked confusion.

"Copies! You won't take me!" she cried, and to their immense surprise a jet of Force lightning zapped from her fingers.

Cilghal and Kyp blocked the attack, and Sothais dove for cover, but Tionne caught a blast and she was thrown through the air, smashing through the window. The wind whistled from the office as the Jedi Master fell with a scream towards her demise.

"Tionne!" Kam roared, as Natua darted out of the office, deftly avoiding the security guards who had just arrived.

"Not to worry!" Releqy assured him and pulled a small grapple blaster from beneath her chair and shot the cable down towards Tionne, who stooped screaming as she caught it.

"Excellent work. Kyp, Sothais, with me! We must find Natua before she does something we all regret." Cilghal said darkly and they dashed away from the office.

Releqy started hoisting the cable up, stabilised by both Kam's physical and Force grip on her, while he also helped float his wife up a little quicker. As Tionne's hand came over the edge of the windowsill, the two hoisted her in, and Kam held her close, sighing in relief.

"That was a near thing Tionne my dear. Are you alright?" Releqy asked the Jedi woman, whose mother of pearl eyes were filled with tears.

"Yes, thanks to you Chief A'kla. Thank you." She said breathlessly, but the Caamasi waved it off.

"Quite alright."

"We're meant to be the ones checking if you're alright. Are you?" Kam asked as the three got to their feet and the security guards fussed over the head of state.

"Yes yes yes." She said in exasperation, shooing the guards away.

"May I ask why you have an ascension gun under your chair? Not that I'm complaining." Tionne said hoarsely.

"It is always better to escape than fight in my opinion. What happened to Jedi Wan?" she demanded, gesturing to the data card the Falleen had given her before she'd gone barmy, and waving idly at the remains of her office, which had glass and paper everywhere through it.

"Possibly the same thing that Cilghal told you about. But what worries me is how she used Force lightning. We do not make a policy of teaching our apprentices Sith techniques." Kam said darkly.

Releqy grabbed her comm.

"This is Chief A'kla to security. A Falleen Jedi is hereby described as armed and dangerous. Lock down the building and if at all possible allow the three Jedi pursuing to tackle her. Be careful." She warned.

"We shall help in the pursuit." Kam said, and pulled at his wife, though still managed to look concerned for her safety.

Releqy shook her head.

"No Master Solusar. Tionne can stay here, she's just dropped about forty stories. She needs something medicinal to get over that. You however should go and help the others." She ordered, and Kam nodded and dashed off.

"And now Tionne," Releqy said as her aides rushed in while she poured two liberal glasses of schnapps, "tell me what else you know about this illness affecting these unfortunate young Jedi."

XX

Admiral Niathal and Bwua'tu both left the briefing room. The staff meeting had taken a little while longer this morning, due to several of the members being delayed by an airspeeder pile up. As such they were cutting it rather fine for their meeting with the Jedi Sothais Saar, who had evidence of Hutt slave transportation vessels moving through Alliance space.

"What was wrong with Gavin this morning do you think?" Niathal asked.

Gavin Darklighter had been a young boy of sixteen, and Wedge Antilles had allowed him to join the reformed Rogue Squadron, and he had gone on to help take Coruscant from Isard, fought against Zsinj and had battled the Empire, Vong and Killiks, rising to the rank of admiral, and one of Niathal's most trusted advisors in the process. However, today he had seemed a million miles away and he had looked very sad and depressed about something.

Her Bothan companion looked at her oddly.

"Don't you remember? Today is the anniversary..." he began but as soon as he had said it she knew what it was.

Two years ago today, his wife Sera Faleur and three of his children, his three biological children, not the two adopted ones, had all died in the worst airspeeder collision Coruscant had seen in thirty years. Over one hundred and fifty people had died in the accident, and ever since Gavin had only had his two adopted sons and his sister in law Reina for company. And with another crash delaying everything this morning...

"Oh no, no wonder..." she said but she was then distracted as a Falleen Jedi came running down the corridor with her saber drawn.

"Master Jedi?" Bwua'tu asked worriedly.

Natua then swung her lightsaber at them, and Bwua'tu tackled Niathal to the floor just in time to avoid the green blade. Natua however continued on, her face showing surprise as she seemed to be moved against her will, and Niathal looked up to see Sothais Saar running down the corridor, and she turned in time to see Natua vanish from sight around the corner.

"Jedi Saar, what the devil is going on?" Bwua'tu demanded furiously as he got to his feet.

Sothais looked at him warily, then edged back, his blue blade rising.

"Where are the real Admirals?" he asked in a trembling voice.

Niathal exchanged a bemused glance with her companion. Nearly being assassinated by a runaway Jedi, and now being told they weren't real admirals wasn't doing her mood any good.

"We are very real Jedi Saar, enough to have you shot if that's what you're thinking of testing." She said icily.

"Where are the real admirals?" he demanded hysterically.

He then swung his blue blade, and the two admirals had no way to avoid it until another blue blade slammed into Saar's and forced him away from the two admirals. The two turned to see the lightsaber floating of its own volition, and its owner, Cilghal, dashing down the corridor, her wide eyes full of ire. She seized her blade from the air and glowered at her dazed victim, then smashed her blade into his own, hard, flicking it into the wall where it clicked and switched off on impact. She then switched off her own blade and clubbed Saar hard on the head with her hilt, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Admiral Niathal, Admiral Bwua'tu, are you alright?" she asked in a soothing voice.

"Alright? Master Cilghal, I greatly respect your order, but random assassination attempts could convince me otherwise." Bwua'tu said angrily.

Cilghal shook her head dolefully.

"My most sincere apologies Admiral Bwua'tu. I feared something like this could happen. Master Skywalker encountered a young Jedi who went insane for apparently no reason. He warned us the same could happen again, how he knows I do not know, and I fear that is what has befallen Jedi Wan and Jedi Saar. They did not intend to harm you, but their mental states seems to make them believe that we have been replaced by copies who they consider a threat."

"So the other one is dangerous as well?" Niathal demanded.

"Not for much longer she won't be."

XX

Natua evaded the guards and reached the hallway that led to the outside world. When she had done that, she could get a ship, then go and join the one who was calling her. Gathering her strength in the Force, Natua leapt through the air, landing on a hanging light, before she flipped beside the guards and scattered them with a Force wave. As the guards fell she wrenched open the locked door with the Force and ran outside, only to be met by the copy of Kyp Durron.

"How did you get here copy?" she demanded, readying her saber.

The not-Kyp smiled lightly.

"You'd be surprised how fast a Jedi Council member can go when they actually wish to jump out a building." He commented, glancing up at the shattered office window of the Chief.

"Go away copy, leave me alone!" Natua then cried unexpectedly and leapt at Kyp.

Kyp was already on the defensive, his purple blade moving to intercept. While she was usually quite a good duellist, it seemed as if her paranoia and fear was influencing her strikes, making her easier to counter. Kyp used his saber flawlessly, creating a purple shield of light that Natua couldn't penetrate. As her attacks became more wild and undisciplined, Kyp saw that he was gathering an audience and had to end this quickly. Leaping away from her next swing, he kicked her overextended arm, making the grip on her saber loosen. As he landed he brought his fist to her mouth and then crashed his blade into her own wavering weapon, flipping it up into the air and catching it deftly. Natua looked at him in horror then turned and ran. Kyp gathered the Force to him, and though he didn't wish to do it, threw the two blades at her, and brought them in a wide arc that cut the tendons in the back of her legs and made her fall to the ground, unable to move. He then dashed over to her and rested his saber at her neck, where she could hear its hum, and she finally desisted, and Kyp smiled slightly as the crowd applauded.

XX

"I somehow managed to convince the public that it was all an elaborate test of my security staff that got a bit out of hand. How I did that I haven't the foggiest idea." Releqy said remorsefully as the four masters and the two admirals joined her for a schnapps that evening.

"Well let's not complain about a good thing. God it's chilly in here Chief A'kla. Could you shut the window?" Kyp asked with a grin and even Niathal couldn't stop her own version of a smile coming onto her face as the wind whistled through the shattered window, that was still to be fixed as there were no sheets of glass big enough in the building, and the earlier airspeeder wreck had knackered up all transport for the day.

"So this happened with someone else?" Bwua'tu asked.

Cilghal nodded.

"Yes, Seff Hellin experienced much the same thing on Lorrd. Now that I have Natua and Sothais, and Lowbacca shall arrive with Seff the day after next, I may be able to determine what happened to them. This is awful. Young Jedi inexplicably going insane...I only thank the Force that no one was wounded." She said grimly.

"Yes, it was only our egos that were a little bruised. But it was a near thing." Niathal said darkly.

"Rest assured Admirals, Chief, we will investigate this as thoroughly as possible." Kam promised, his non drinking hand wrapped around his wife's.

Releqy looked out of her shattered window at the setting sun.

"We cannot allow this news to get out my friends. On top of these rising Vong fears, it may well be enough to start a panic. And with anti slavery movements such as Freedom Flight getting stronger, aided and abetted by that reporter, you know Admiral, the one I like," she said, looking to Niathal for support.

"Madhi Vaandt?"

"That's the one. Anti slavery reports, insane Jedi, growing Vong tensions, Master Skywalker absent from Coruscant, retaliations by desperate pirate groups who Admiral Niathal has ticked off and the Chiss still in the huff with us...if all of these were to combine, we'd have riots on our hands. We must keep this quiet for as long as possible." She concluded.

"But the problem of slavery is a very real danger Chief A'kla. We need to make a decision on what to do. The Hutts continue to enslave species under the Treaty of Vontor, and the Chevins continue to subjugate the Chevs like poor Sothais. These are but visible signs of a galaxy wide problem. But as you pointed out, groups like Freedom Flight and others are gaining a lot of popular support, and we have heard tell of slave revolts on worlds such as Tatooine and Orvax. People wish for it to change and all they need is for some bright spark, whether it be a person or event, and they will be clamouring for an end to slavery." Tionne elaborated.

Releqy nodded.

"I am all for the end of slavery...but that would risk a confrontation with the Hutts. If it were begun elsewhere however..." she said musingly.

"And if Admiral Niathal is successful in catching Hutt slaver ships then we risk fanning the embers of dissent into an inferno ourselves." Bwua'tu said, politely inclining his head towards Niathal.

"Right...we will leave slavery well enough alone. If things transpire into an actual issue that demands action, rather than just underlying resentment as it is, we shall act. Also, we shall keep quiet on the insane Jedi and Vong front, and the Chiss are still grumpy so they can stew a bit longer before we try yet again to be civil with them. However, Master Skywalker's absence has already been noted." Releqy said with a dour expression.

"And what of it?" Kam asked coolly, and Releqy looked shocked that she had insinuated Luke had something he didn't.

"Oh Kam, I intended no disrespect, certainly not. But people tend to wonder when Master Skywalker goes off somewhere...especially when he takes the _Falcon_ rather than the _Jade Shadow_. And while the myth that he always brings back bad news isn't known to the public, people to tend to get a bit panicky when he isn't here. They see his presence as comforting, like a night light." She explained, and though Kam didn't like to admit it, she did have a point.

"They shall just need to make do with Kam for the time being." Tionne said, squeezing her husband's hand.

Releqy nodded and looked to Niathal.

"And what of your piracy campaign?" she asked.

"I have General Antilles leading four taskforces, one under General Celchu, one under General Janson and the other under Generel Klivian to track down other pirate groups. Antilles and Janson had dealings with such people during their time in Wraith Squadron in particular, and they all dealt with pirates during the Sate Pestage fiasco and also dealt with the Invids. But as you have mentioned some ambitious pirate groups, who we suspect Black Sun has a hand in, have been doing united strikes. I intend to send a force to deal with them but..."

"I'd be happy to command a task force." Bwua'tu volunteered.

Niathal pursed her lips and shook her head.

"No. If the Vong are up to no good, I want you close to Coruscant, not chasing rogue pirate groups somewhere out near Fornax. I might send Pash Cracken to have a nose around. I would send Admiral Darklighter, but he doesn't seem particularly with it at the moment." She said sadly.

Releqy and Tionne both looked sad.

"Of course the poor devil. I saw Senator Wuul give his commemoration earlier, it was quite moving." Releqy said sadly.

"Yes...and Admiral Klauskin isn't much better from what we've heard." Kyp said darkly, and Niathal pursed her lips again, and Releqy looked worried.

"Hmm...something is going on my friends. I fear we may all soon be tested. And in ways we do not wish to be." Releqy said grimly, and no one contradicted her as the sun slipped out of sight

XX

The _Falcon_ was making good time towards Tatooine. In the main hold, K'Kruhk had cleared a large space so that he could evaluate all his Jedi companion's saber skills, despite Han's protests. Lumiya was sitting in on these too, claiming to be nosy as to what K'Kruhk would be doing with them.

Luke had gone first. His form was the most clearly defined of the lot, and was clearly Form V, Djem So, with the subtle nuances of his own skills added in, and he appeared proficient at some semblance of all the other forms, so K'Kruhk let him go without adjustment.

"Your skill is good. Djem So is a relatively aggressive form, can be used more easily for saber defence rather than blaster defence...you are quite the master of it, and your own subtle hints throughout are quite interesting. Your father was quite adept at it too. Hmm, young Mara if you please." K'Kruhk said, and Luke sat beside him, Han and Lumiya to watch what happened next.

He first had Mara defend against the same remote that Obi Wan had had Luke go up against nearly forty five years before. Luke couldn't quite grasp what K'kruhk was looking for, but as he seemed to know what he was doing Luke was quite content to sit back and watch his wife's fluid body movements. After a few minutes, in which Lumiya fixed her with a gaze Luke didn't like the look of, K'Kruhk got off and ignited his own saber.

"Now, I shall truly test you." He said and saluted her with his blade before going in for the attack.

The duel was small and not ferocious, as K'Kruhk only intended to gauge what her basic saber form was. They hammered at each other, with K'Kruhk making noises of interest and thought as he came at her and held her off consecutively. He then locked their sabers, then bowed as he disengaged his own weapon.

"Most instructive Mara. Your technique is good, your defence could use some work...your form is also Djem So, but not as ferocious as Luke's, it is more sedate, much like Aayla Secura's once was...but your skill does need some polishing. Young Leia, up next if you please." K'Kruhk asked as Mara harrumphed and sat down in K'Kruhk's seat.

"Bet you she gets hit by the remote." Han said with a grin, and sure enough, not long after K'Kruhk had activated the small droid, Leia yelped in pain, resulting in a laugh from her children and nephew.

"Oh shut up." She said grumpily and proceeded to block the shots, K'Kruhk taking notes while she did so. Afterwards, he again engaged her in the same exercise as he had with Mara, and finally he came to a stop.

"Most enlightening. Your basic form seems to be Soresu, Form III, but not aggressive enough to be considered like that of Obi Wan Kenobi, it is more fluid and graceful, such as that of Luminara Unduli. Very good. Jaina, let us test your new hand's capabilities."

The exercises continued, and K'Kruhk found Jaina to be proficient in Juyo. However, like her mother and aunt, she needed some work.

"Your skill is prodigious, you do not need as much work as your mother for example," he said, and Leia glowered at him and stuck an extra spoonful of sugar into his tea, "but once you have broken in your new hand and practiced a bit more, we shall have you pulling off stunts as if you were Rahm Kota."

"Oh I knew him." Leia commented.

"A fine chap...if a bit obsessive." K'Kruhk said, then beckoned Jacen forward.

"Kota...wasn't he one of the ones linked to the formation of the Rebellion?" Lumiya asked Mara as she stirred her tea.

"Yeah I think so. Leia would know better than I would."

Lumiya was finding all of this most instructive. Observing how they fought would come in useful later on...

"You do realise Lumiya is watching all of you practice like a hawk? She's measuring you up so she knows how to get you." Han said, and Luke arced his neck to see Lumiya watching Jacen go up against the remote intently.

"Yeah...I know but there isn't much we can do about it is there?" Luke sighed and continued peeling the potatoes.

K'Kruhk then entered the duel phase with Jacen. It began sedately enough, and K'Kruhk began to suspect he was also a practitioner of Juyo. However, then he began to feel what Jacen was doing and then Jacen leapt and swept his blade under him, and K'Kruhk blasted him from the air with alarm. Jacen thudded to the deck and Lumiya and Ben helped him to his feet.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

K'Kruhk was looking at Jacen with a very calculating expression, but at the same time looked as though he was staring through him. It gave Jacen the shivers.

"Yoohoo! Jacen to K'Kruhk! What did you knock me on my butt for?" he demanded angrily, as his rear was rather sore from where he landed.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked, and Ben was looking at the aging Jedi with a stupefied expression.

"What was he doing wrong? I didn't feel anything dark...there were dark undercurrents but he was sort of recycling them into his lightsaber..." Lumiya said, then her eyes widened as she looked at K'Kruhk, then turned her own calculating expression onto Jacen, which made him step back.

"But what's he done that's so wrong? I don't get it." Ben said.

K'Kruhk looked at Jacen calculatingly.

"Because of what you were doing Jacen. You were using your anger, frustration and resentment of what happened and what you did in the other timeline and were utilising it in your combat...turning it into something positive." He said darkly, looking at Jacen worriedly, and Jaina could feel her twin was starting to get uncomfortable under the scrutiny of both K'Kruhk and Lumiya.

"What's going on?" Luke asked as he and Mara came out of the kitchen looking concerned.

"Where did you learn it?" K'Kruhk asked again, and Jacen shrugged.

"I don't know, I just sort of used it...it came naturally."

"Extraordinary." K'Kruhk said in astonishment and sat down.

"Well if he's using the bad stuff he's feeling and making it good, what's so bad about it? Though I don't particularly approve of him doing that, it doesn't seem that bad." Luke said, placing his hand on a confused looking Jacen's shoulder.

"It isn't, per se. What alarms him is the fact that was Jacen is doing is Vaapad. A very little used lightsaber form from the final days of the Old Republic." Lumiya explained, looking at Jacen with new interest.

"Vaapad? The one Vader would go against in his practices when he was particularly bored?" Mara asked, and she too started to look curiously at Jacen when Lumiya nodded in assent.

"Will you all stop staring at me?" he demanded irritably.

"You are performing Vaapad by instinct...but it had to be taught, the only one it wasn't taught by was Mace Windu himself, and that's only because he created it."

"But what is so bad about it?" Jaina demanded, getting angry on her brother's behalf.

"Because out of the three people who practised it, and were trained to use it, two of them went to the dark side. Sora Bulq joined the Confederacy and Depa Billaba went insane."

Luke shook his head.

"But that's impossible. How can he be performing a saber technique we have few, if any records of, and doing it well enough to make you recognise it?"

"That's the problem...he is doing it naturally." Lumiya said.

"Alright, I'll stop if you want me to then! Sheesh! If I knew even my saber form made me a Sith in waiting I wouldn't have bothered." Jacen snapped and stormed off. Jaina and Ben exchanged looks, then they both followed him.

K'Kruhk looked musingly at where Jacen had walked off from.

"Performing Vaapad by instinct...very intriguing. I shall consult with Master Saa on what this means, she trained Master Windu, she may know something. While it is good that he is turning his feelings into something positive, the allure of the dark side to Vaapad users is very strong. It debased Depa Billaba, and she was always a very centred and spiritual woman. But if he doesn't find some way to come to terms with what he feels, it could turn into something very ugly. We could very well have Darth Caedus here too." K'Kruhk said, and Leia shuddered.

"Shouldn't I be present if you're discussing Jacen falling to the dark side through use of a saber form? And isn't it his decision if he wants to stop?" Luke asked waspishly.

"Yes indeed...I simply wish to get all the facts my boy. Now, where is young Ben?" he asked, and Ben stomped out from wherever he had followed Jacen to, looking grumpy.

"You better apologise to him." He said and lit his saber, and Lumiya smiled in amusement.

K'Kruhk stroked his chin.

"Perhaps I did come over a bit too strong...I shall let him cool off for a bit. But for now my lad, let us evaluate your capabilities. Is your master not coming through because he's annoyed with me?" K'Kruhk asked, looking a bit mournful.

"Partly...and he also said he didn't want to see how bad I was." Ben said with a grin.

K'Kruhk chuckled and activated the remote. Jacen did eventually appear and glowered at K'Kruhk and Lumiya, while Ben impressed him with his skill at deflecting shots, which slightly improved his mood. He then too engaged K'Kruhk, and the Whiphid seemed a bit surprised by how good he actually was, further cheering Jacen up.

"Quite impressive young one, quite impressive indeed...a few tweaks needed but nothing major. Shii-Cho is your form, such as that used by Kit Fisto. Well, this has been most instructive. Thank you. Tomorrow we shall begin further exercises." He said, then headed over to Jacen.

"Jacen, I want to apologise for seeming like I was picking on you. You just shocked me by using Vaapad naturally, it was a shock to the old system, especially when I thought all knowledge of it had vanished. However, that aside, your saber technique is quite impressive. But the fact remains that you are performing it naturally...most curious." He said, and extended his hand, and to his delight, Jacen shook.

"Thanks. I didn't know I was doing anything I shouldn't be, especially considering me being a Sith in the other timeline...you reckon I should find a new form?" he asked uncertainly, and K'Kruhk saw that he had actually hurt the young man, and he was worried that this might send him to the dark side in this timeline too.

K'Kruhk pondered, then shook his head.

"No my boy. I believe you know enough now and are wise enough to use Vaapad...if we can perhaps improve your knowledge of it and make it a full fledged fighting form, then you could be very formidable in combat." K'Kruhk said with a smile.

"But, what about..." Jacen asked hesitantly., and K'Kruhk shook his head.

"I trust in you not to fall. And I think you are safe from that now. Just a feeling I have." He said, and Jacen smiled and went to help his father serve the dinner.

K'Kruhk's eyes then fell on Ben, who was chatting animatedly to Lumiya and he frowned.

XX

The Devaronian news reporter, Madhi Vaandt, smiled as she watched the celebrating Twi'leks. Ever since she had first done a piece on slavery when she had visited Vinsoth, showing the people who watched the _Perre Needmo Newshour_ that slavery did still exist in the galaxy, she had become somewhat famous. Bigger networks kept trying to lure her away but she steadfastly refused, believing she could do more good as a reporter for a small show...albeit one with a large audience.

Since the contacts had begun, there had also been another reason to keep the bigger companies at bay. Big companies like that couldn't afford any scandal, and Madhi was getting a lot of support from the group Freedom Flight, an anti slavery group that was dedicated to eradicating slavery and helping freed slaves set up new lives. Madhi herself had done this when she had won Shohta Laar in a sabacc game on Vinsoth. She had freed the Chev and since then he had joined her crew, helping her identify places where she could ply her trade and also spread the message of Freedom Flight.

And she had just happened to be here on Ryloth when the news had leaked out. The new port master, who had replaced the aging Ko'shak, who had managed to escape the same discrediting the rest of his clan had faced years before, had owned a red Rutian slave. She had told her master that all she had ever wanted to do was travel the stars and earn her living as a news reporter, just like her dead grandfather had before her. Touched by this story, and perhaps feeling the recent loss of his own grandfather, the port master had freed her.

While this wasn't exactly common, it wasn't unheard of. However, when the young girl had appeared on the Holonet reporting headline news a few months later, the port master, in his excitement had told his new slave, and had then granted her her freedom in order to pursue her dreams. This girl had told other slaves, and a few listened and freed their slaves, and so the movement began. Dream Followers was started by the second freed slave and enslaved slaves, liberal minded people, and general do gooders all rallied to the cry of unification and the Ruling Clan was suddenly presented with massive protests across Ryloth as hundreds of thousands of female slaves demanded an end to their slavery. Now, ordinarily, the Ruling Clan would have ridden this out.

Two things stood in the way of this.

The first was the fact that other planets and enslaved peoples were also beginning to find their voice. With groups like Freedom Flight fanning the embers of the desire for freedom, and places such as Klatooine, Vinsoth and other slavery hotspots all kicking off (the problem on Klatooine breaking off after the Hutts were a bit overzealous in collecting some slaves who had run off, as they activated the anti-escape transmitter that blew slaves up, right beside the Fountain of the Ancients, damaging the structure and breaking the terms of the Treaty of Vontor), combined with the news that the Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance, Cha Niathal, was beginning to crack down on slavers in Alliance space, the anti-slavery movement began to gain more and more momentum, and when news leaked out that Chief A'kla disapproved of slavery also, it bolstered the already ever growing anti-slavery movement into an intergalactic news affair, and was now being watched with vested interest across the galaxy. As a result of this interest, and the host of reports like Madhi who were now on Ryloth, the Ruling Clan couldn't sweep it under the carpet, much as the Hutts, the Chevin and others couldn't.

The second thing that prevented the Ruling Clan from riding it out was the fact that two of the five members also believed in freeing the slaves. Under ordinary circumstances, they would never have gone against the general will and tradition of the Twi'lek people. But, as a result of the Dream Followers movement, they freed many slaves between them and began to push for the abolition of all Twi'leki slavery.

And now here they were.

"Are we ready Shohta?" she asked, and the Chev, smiling widely, nodded.

"This is Madhi Vaandt for the _Perre Needmo Newshour_. Celebration fills the streets of Kala'uun today, as the Ruling Council shockingly, and against all former precedent, voted in favour of the bill to abolish slavery across Ryloth. As of now, all Twi'lek slaves on Rytloth are to be given their freedom. The Dream Follower organisation clearly did its job, and has achieved what many had once thought impossible: the abolition of slavery on Ryloth.

But this poses an interesting set of questions? Will other worlds now follow suit? Will Vinsoth finally see the Chev freed from the Chevin? Will the Hutts yield to popular demand and give the species enslaved under the Treaty of Vontor, now null and void due to the damage done by the Hutts to the Fountain of the Ancients on Klatooine, their freedom? And on Malastare, will the cry for Dug freedom finally be heard? We live in a changing time, and all we can do is hope that these positive signs, along with Chief A'kla and Admiral Niathal's pledge to get tough on slavery, are a sign that things are changing for the better in the lives of the enslaved of our galaxy. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Madhi Vaandt, coming to you from the recently liberated slave workhouse of Kala'uun, reporting the liberation of the Twi'lek slaves. Back to Perre at the studio." She finished with an enormous grin and Shohta and her Twi'lek pilot, Remmik, winked at her.

"That was great boss. Times are really changing." He commented.

She smiled.

"I know, it's brilliant. I've never seen the entire galaxy get so caught up about something."

"It certainly is good for all the enslaved peoples," Shohta said as he dismantled the camera, "and you highlighting things that need changed is good too. Times are changing Remmik, and for the better I think. So what now boss?"

Madhi grinned.

"First, we call Ackmena and inform her of what's happened here in case she doesn't already know...and then we'll see what's going on at Malastare." She said, and the two followed her back to their ship, the _Shooting Star_.

XX

Releqy was sipping her morning cup of coffee and was just about to read her situation reports when the door tinged, to reveal the broadly smiling form of Tresina Lobi, another of the Jedi Council, and one of those on the Council who was a supporter of the anti-slavery movement, which Releqy herself did support, but couldn't officially put the Alliance behind in case it got on the fragile nerves of the Hutts, who had been rather provocative and territorial since their devastation during the Vong War.

"Ah, Master Lobi, it is always good to see you, and it does me good seeing such a smile this early in the morning. Are you just in a good mood or has something wonderful happened?" she asked curiously.

"A bit of both Chief A'kla. Have you seen the reports from Ryloth?" she asked, as Releqy passed her a cup of coffee.

"I was just about to read them, why?"

Tresina grinned.

"Slavery has been abolished by the Ruling Clan. Ryloth is now going to become a slavery free zone." She said with a smile.

Releqy looked at her incredulously, then quickly read the sitrep from Ryloth. True enough, there it was, in plain black and white. The Ruling Clan had abolished slavery. This was wonderful!

"Excellent! This is beyond excellent actually! That means..."

"The road to galaxy wide freedom has begun to be walked. Ryloth seems to have been a spark onto the kindling. There are anti-slavery riots and protests springing up everywhere. Orvax IV's government has been toppled, and the T'Surr government has fled. The slaves toppled the government and are now asking for Alliance help in setting up their new government and freeing all the slaves on the planet, and from what I hear, then wish to join the Alliance." She said with a grin, and Releqy couldn't have been more delighted if she tried.

Why couldn't she have other days that begun with such good news? It would certainly do a lot for her stress levels.

"So, Orvax has a new government...Ryloth has abolished slavery...it's all go isn't it?" she asked, and commed the button.

"Get me Admiral Niathal." She ordered her secretary, who gave an affirmative.

Releqy then smiled at Tresina.

"And even better, as it was begun somewhere not to do with the Hutts, I can now put Alliance pressure behind it, get more support, show that slavery will not be tolerated any longer, and that slavers, along with pirates, days are numbered." She concluded, and Tresina nodded eagerly.

Releqy knew, that as a Chev, the slavery issue was very close to the Jedi Master's heart, and knew that she had only paid a visit because she knew the Chief was just as anti-slavery as she was, and when informed of the news would be able to publicly announce it and bring the power of the Alliance to bear behind the issue. Not that Releqy minded much.

Admiral Niathal's holo shimmered to life and she inclined her head respectfully.

"Good morning Chief A'kla, Master Lobi. I assume you are calling about what happened on Ryloth? Wonderful news isn't it?" she asked with a Mon Calamari smile.

"It is indeed. And Orvax's government has been toppled by a slave revolt. They have taken control of their own destinies, and now wish to join the Alliance." Tresina informed her, but Niathal suddenly looked grave.

"Orvax? That leads to a problem." She said worriedly.

"How so?" Releqy asked, feeling her very good mood take a slight knock.

Niathal looked worried.

"We have received information from Droma's Ryn network. Apparently the T'Surr government of Orvax objects to being kicked off of the planet. They are gathering a large group of pirates, mercenaries and ships from their home planet and aim to take back Orvax." She said gravely.

"And as they are not yet part of the Alliance, we can do nothing." Releqy concluded, feeling her stomach drop.

Niathal nodded grimly.

"Are you sure we can do nothing? Such an event could unhinge the anti-slavery movement, which might undo everything that people are fighting for in trying to eradicate slavery. I know the Alliance is not meant to justify planetary revolts, but we only couldn't do something about Orvax and its ilk because of the Hutt monopoly of the slave trade. As such, we technically could justify intervention on Orvax now that it has a decent government which isn't built on slavery."

"But we aren't allowed to intervene in planets that aren't actually part of the Alliance." Niathal pointed out.

"Unless..." Releqy said, looking contemplative.

The other two looked at her, and the Caamasi smiled.

"Unless a ship just happened to be there to inspect this prospective new member of the Alliance, with a task force nearby that is on manouvres." She said with a glint in her eye.

Niathal grinned.

"Indeed. It's sneaky, I like it. The Senate will have our heads, but I like it. I'll send Admiral Darklighter, get him away from Coruscant and his memories. He can deal with observing Orvax, and if the T'Surr are stupid enough to still attack, then he can be there to deal with them. Perhaps you would like to go with him Master Lobi?" Niathal asked, and Tresina nodded.

"I would be honoured." She said, inclining her head.

"Very good. Right, I will announce that due to the events on Ryloth, the Alliance will put its support whole-heartedly behind the anti slavery movement. Some will criticise, but we can handle such things. Admiral, I trust you can deal with whatever happens at Orvax. Things are changing rapidly. So...that piece of good news aside, any news on the Vong front?" Releqy asked, and Niathal shook her head.

"Not at the moment Chief. But the Third Fleet is on manoeuvres in the area they were spotted, so they may yet yield some information on this new threat."

Releqy then turned to Tresina.

"And any information on our young insane Jedi?" she asked.

"None. Master Cilghal has examined them, but wants to wait until Lowbacca arrives with Seff Hellin before she and Tekli go any further." Tresina informed her.

Releqy gave a smile as she sat down.

"Slavery is on the out. This is good news. And I will give every piece of help possible to ensure that the good news that began my day today continues. Admiral, deal with the threat to Orvax, and see if you can't find a diplomat to go with you in case they still wish to join. Good luck to you Master Lobi. And may the Force be with the galaxy. Whether they be rebelling slaves, insane Jedi, or Vong targets, may the Force be with us all."

XX

The voyage had continued, with all of them improving in the art of saber combat under K'Kruhk's watchful eye. Pleased with their progress, he was still eager to talk to T'ra as soon as they arrived on Tatooine. The fact that Jacen was naturally performing a lost lightsaber form was a cause for concern at the very least. However, he was doing it quite well, and if it was helping him deal with the news of him being a family killing Sith Lord, who was he to complain?

The ship glided gently down into Mos Eisley, into the very same berth that the _Falcon_ had originally been in when Han had first transported Luke and Obi Wan towards Alderaan. As Luke explained to Ben the berth's history, K'Kruhk hurried through to the comm station and called T'ra.

"Hello K'Kruhk," she said, wincing slightly as the holo came to life, "whatever it is, can it be quick? Abeloth is being quite vicious today." She reported and wavered a little as yet another tremor wracked Kessel.

"Alright, I'll get right into it. Jacen is performing Vaapad naturally."

Tra's eyes widened in shock as she focused on him after she had wavered again.

"Vaapad? But how is that possible? Only Mace, Depa and Sora Bulq were proficient in Vaapad, and with their deaths all knowledge of it should be gone. How can he possibly be performing it?" she demanded.

"That's what I want to know. But I've been watching him ever since he did that first technique, and he knows other Vaapad moves and is using the dark feelings inside him and putting them into his combat...and to make things even more interesting, he isn't being influenced by then, just like Master Windu wasn't."

T'ra looked at him.

"Well, if he is using it as Mace did and isn't being influenced by the darkness, I can't see any point in stopping him. Send a message to Master Sadhett and see if he can find anything on Vaapad in the Enclave, he can send it to Jacen."

"You don't think its a cause for concern?" K'Kruhk asked.

She shrugged.

"Provided he isn't doing anything wrong, then no. But, if he strays..."

"Then I shall take him to task. Thank you for your counsel my dear. How are things your end?"

T'ra frowned.

"Not good. She's getting stronger, and I fear the root of that is the fact that she may have killed some of our allies. She's getting too powerful." She hissed.

K'Kruhk nodded.

"Do not worry T'ra. After we get our hands on Alema Rar, we shall join you." He said, and with a smile and a wave she flickered out.

XX

While the others got ready for their excursion onto Tatooine, Lumiya slipped out of the ship. Knowing she didn't have a lot of time, she snuck across the spaceport and into the security guard's office, and quickly keyed in Krayt's private signal.

She knew it was very risky, but after all he had created enough of a risk by sending a trigger happy one of his own group out on a mission. If Rape had killed Ben, everything could have been undone.

The holo flickered to life, revealing an irate Krayt, flanked by Wyyrlok, Oracle, Krush and Cyclone.

"Lumiya! What the devil do you mean by calling me from a public terminal?" he demanded furiously.

Lumiya narrowed her green eyes to slits.

"Probably the same thing you meant by sending one of your clowns to Lorrd. The damn idiot could have ruined everything. What were you playing at?" she demanded with a hiss.

Krayt looked at her calculatingly, and Lumiya smiled. It was as Rape had told her, Krayt didn't know about this little operation. Whoopsie.

"Who was on Lorrd and why?" he asked in a grim voice, and Lumiya enjoyed watching his advisers as they began to squirm.

Wyyrlok, rather bravely in Lumiya's opinion, bowed his head and spoke first.

"Forgive me master, but myself and Lady Oracle...we acted to ensure there was no chance of her vision coming true. To do this, we hired the Jedi killer Aurra Sing to kill the Jedi K'Kruhk. But I do not know of the presence of Darth Rape, my lord, forgive me." He said, and bowed before his master.

Lumiya smiled. An utter fool he may be, but he, like her, did not suffer fools lightly. About the only thing they had in common. How would he deal with this?

"Is this true Lady Oracle, the events Lord Wyyrlok has described?"

The Bothan gulped, then nodded.

"Yes my lord."

"Very well." Krayt said, then the holo lit up as Krayt blasted Wyyrlok with Force lightning that sent the Chagrian scraping along the floor and stirring feebly as Krayt turned back to Oracle.

"Do you know why Lord Wyyrlok was punished Lady Oracle?"

Though the Bothan did not know the reason, Lumiya had a suspicion.

"Lord Wyyrlok, your master does not punish you for what you did. He punishes you, because your actions have denied him the considerable pleasure of killing Aurra Sing himself. He and she have history you see." Lumiya said with a wicked smile, and she was pleased to see that Krayt looked slightly alarmed about the knowledge she possessed.

"A thousand pardons my lord, it shall not happen again." Oracle said, and Wyyrlok wheezed his agreement.

"I had no clue my lord." Wyyrlok said as he struggled to his feet.

"All is forgiven Lord Wyyrlok. You acted with the best of intentions. But do not disobey me again." Krayt said in a threatening voice.

Lumiya scoffed from her end. Forgiveness? If Vader had bungled like that, the Emperor had normally taken off a mechanical limb. But Krayt wasn't even close to Vader...though the last lingering remnants of Jedi training within them was something that could prove a problem, giving them one link to each other.

"Lumiya, you say Sing is dead? By whose hand?"

"Boba Fett's." Lumiya supplied, and wondered whether Oracle would be praised or punished, as she was deserving of both for her illegal action in hiring Fett.

"Indeed. And who was it who hired Fett? You, Lord Wyyrlok?" Krayt asked, and Oracle stepped forward.

"It was I my lord. I feared that if Sing failed in her mission, the Jedi may get her to reveal about us, so I took precautions. I offer myself for punishment." She said, her head bowed.

Krayt gave a laugh, that sounded rather like a bark.

"Punishment? No Lady Oracle. You foresaw a potential problem in Wyyrlok's plan and acted to nullify it. Your actions may have saved us from exposure. Good work. Continue to serve me so."

Oracle smiled and took a step back, and Lumiya had to admit, there was something to be said of keeping them guessing as to what their fates would be.

"And does that lead us to the inclusion of Darth Rape in this little affair?" Krayt asked in a deadly whisper, and the Vurk stepped forward, his head bowed.

"Yes my lord. I suspected Lady Oracle of treason, and I sent Rape to investigate what was going on, to get proof of her heresy, of her blasphemy. I wished to expose her for the witch she was." Krush said dully.

Krayt nodded and rose, placing his hand on Krush's shoulder.

"I understand Lord Krush." He said with a smile.

"Thank you my lord!" Krush said, bowing and fawning, making Lumiya feel slightly sick.

Krayt turned, and then Lumiya's stomach felt a whole lot better as Krayt lit one of his lightsabers, turned and cut off Krush's right arm, making the Vurk yell out in pain and drop to his knees.

"You deserve this pain Krush. Your mind is too rigid, too used to the thinking of the ancient Sith, and the Rule of Two. My will is all of your will. And Oracle was only acting out of concern for me, even if it was against my orders. So I have to wonder Krush, that if she sought to protect me, is it perhaps you we should look to for treasonous thoughts?" Krayt asked, and Krush shook his head, flattening in front of his lord and master.

"My master! I only wish to serve you! I could not stand the slight against you, that is why I sent Rape! Forgive me master!" Krush wailed, and Lumiya looked at him as if he were something disgusting, an expression mirrored by Oracle.

Krayt glared down at the armless Vurk and sneered.

"Forgiveness Krush? The only reason you did not lose your head is your long history of excellent service. But fail me in such a way again and I will not be so lenient. Lady Oracle, only give him a prosthetic at the end of this week, not before. You will endure your pain until then Krush, and you will visit Lady Oracle daily so she can rub sand into your wound. The pain will be a useful instructor. Now go, all of you." Krayt ordered as he settled back in his throne.

The other Sith left the holo, and he inclined his head to Lumiya.

"I apologise. It has been dealt with."

Lumiya glared at him.

"I don't care if it has been dealt with, the fact was it shouldn't have happened. The fanaticism that some of your goons serve you with is very dangerous Krayt. Ensure this does not happen again, or there will be consequences." She said darkly, and Krayt glared back at her.

"You forget yourself Lumiya, you forget to whom you speak. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith."

Lumiya rolled her eyes and extended her hand. Before her, Krayt's eyes bulged in surprise and his hand went to his throat as the Force closed around his neck.

"You know, strangling someone through the Force was one of my master's favourite pastimes. He was always quick to deal with those who did not know their place...such as you Krayt. You aren't and never will be, the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith. I am that. You are a highly glorified Dark Jedi who has just happened to convince a bunch of stupid thugs and sycophants that they are Sith. They, and you, are not Sith, and never will be. And if you ever risk my plan again, whether it be you or one of your subordinates, I _will_ kill you. Do I make myself crystal clear?" she asked in a slow voice, as if she were talking to a particularly stupid child.

Krayt nodded, and took a deep shuddering breath as she let go of him.

"Remember Krayt...you and your band are not Sith. However, you are a necessary part of my plan. But screw up again and I will eradicate you and your little friends." She said, and flicked off the holo, before clearing the information and heading back to the ship, where she was met by an impatient Luke.

"Where have you been?" he asked suspiciously.

Lumiya smiled.

"I was oiling my joints. Sand's a bastard if it gets in prosthetic limbs. You know, the ones you were kind enough to give me." She said tartly, then headed inside, smirking at the look of annoyance on Luke's face.

XX

Krayt gasped as he got his breath back. So, the aging old space scow thought she was the true Lord of the Sith did she? He would have to _instruct_ her otherwise. But...while the military equation was all but settled, as his Super Star Destroyer alone could destroy her fleet, there was still the possibility that Lumiya could pull something out of the bag, or that she would ally with that witch Vongerella to destroy him, and that would balls things up for his side. So, it was quite obvious that he had to improve his standing. Looking out of his vast window, he saw Ship where he had landed it, and smiled.

If Ship was a Sith vessel, it was obviously going to be a dark side vessel. As such, it might help him find other dark side groups, which he could then integrate into the One Sith. Smiling, he summoned Wyyrlok.

"Lord Wyyrlok, prepare Ship. I am going to see if my theory about it being a replacement for stasis is right. And I am going to expand our resources." He said and grinned.

XX

Bossk cracked his aging fingers against the table. The Trandoshan was old now, and he had never quite recovered from the temporary exposure to hard vacuum after the Vong's attack on the Jubilee Wheel, and his snout had never regained its former shape after Han Solo had broken it after Bossk had taunted him over the death of Chewbacca. But his mind was still as good as ever, and, though he was aging, he was still a very quick draw and formidable fighter. Across from him sat Dengar. The two of them had once been hired by Darth Vader to capture Han Solo and Princess Leia, though Boba Fett had won the race to that bounty. Bossk had called Dengar when he heard that his quarry was heading towards Tatooine, where the other hunter lived, and had asked for his help, saying that with the two of their skills, the bounty was a sure thing.

What Bossk hadn't told Dengar was who the bounty was. The bounty was the former Jedi Alema Rar, who had been mutilated by Leia Organa Solo during the Killik War. A substantial bounty had been placed upon her head by one of the leaders of the Chiss Ascendancy, and Bossk intended to accept, in order to prove he could still hunt and to get one last good workout before he retired for good. Dengar had agreed to take the job because his wife, Manaroo, had a disease that required either frequent and expensive treatments, or one operation that was very very expensive and could only be performed on Coruscant. While Dengar did have that much money stowed away, his wife refused to let him use all that money because he would leave himself short if anything happened to her. As such, he had agreed to take the job in order to make up the rest of the money from his smaller accounts, which after a lot of persuasion, she had been made to agree to by her concerned husband.

"Don't worry. I've hired a local swoop gang, and they will do most of the heavy stuff, all we need to do is finish her off and get rid of them, and everything will be fine." Bossk soothed.

"I don't know Bossk. Do we really have to kill them?" Dengar asked, and the Trandoshan laughed.

"You've been retired too long Dengar, you've gone soft." Bossk hissed.

Dengar glowered at him as he sipped his ale. They were in Chalmunn's Cantina, and it was a bustling hive of activity as always. The night time bartender, Ackmena, was on today, as Wuher was having a lot of trouble with a clan of Jawas that kept trying to force him out of his home as they wanted to store droids there, and he had asked her to cover. He knew the old lady and could see her bouncer, Tork, standing by the door and keeping an eye on things.

"Ackmena has a bouncer, we'll need to take him down. Who is this person anyway?" Dengar asked, eyeing Tork suspiciously.

Bossk grinned, showing his pointy teeth.

"Alema Rar."

Dengar glowered at him.

"That's the insane Twi'lek Jedi. You didn't tell me this bounty was for a Jedi!" he growled.

Bossk waved his hand to calm his companion.

"Calm down Dengar. I've told, I've got it all worked out." He soothed.

Dengar looked at him curiously.

"I heard the Chiss had sent the Fel boy to chase her down. Why they going back on it?"

Bossk hissed in amusement.

"They're not. Apparently, one of the Ruling Families don't want the Fels regaining their power and prestige."

Dengar mused. Corruption in the Ascendancy? That was news.

"So what is the plan?" Dengar asked, resigned to the fact that he was stuck in this job with the old Trandoshan.

Bossk grinned and leaned forward to talk to him.

XX

The group left the ship in the capable hands on Threepio and Artoo, as they were headed to Chalmunn's Cantina, and droids weren't allowed. As they moved through the streets of Mos Eisley, they saw dozens of people protesting outside at least three separate townhouses.

"What are they all protesting for dad?" Ben asked curiously, squinting so he could try and see the placards they were waving through the bright light.

"Anti slavery protests. Ryloth kicked up a hornet's nest when it abolished slavery. Now everyone else is demanding the same thing, even here. Good news for the galaxy if you ask me. There's protests all over the galaxy, and now the Alliance is putting some muscle behind it, we might actually be able to eradicate it." Luke said with a grin.

"Don't you read the news?" Jaina asked with a smile, though she didn't seem particularly cheerful.

Ben winked at her.

"Why do you think I keep dad and Jacen around?" he asked cheekily and Jacen swatted at him.

Lumiya was looking at the reports from Ryloth with interest. Slavery was apparently on the way out: perhaps opportunities were to be made. She then clicked to the next page and frowned.

"It says here that police on Corellia are looking for a very small Bimm with one eye...if he was that small you'd think they'd use two eyes wouldn't you?" she asked, and Ben and Jacen snorted, while she carried on oblivious.

They entered the cantina, and Ben looked around interestedly.

"Dad, what's the legal drinking age on Tatooine?" he asked innocently.

"Sixteen." Luke answered without thinking, and was then made aware of his error by the smack he got from his wife.

"Hey, I can have a drink!" Ben said excitedly.

"No you can't." Luke said.

K'Kruhk, who was laughing, winked at Ben.

"Of course he can. As you said, he's of legal age. He doesn't need your permission." He commented, and Ben beamed at him, while Luke and Mara gave him a sour look.

As they descended the stairs, the droid detector went off. Ackmena, the woman behind the bar, looked up and frowned.

"Are any of you a HRD?" she asked, not automatically detecting a droid in this eclectic group.

"No, just more machine than flesh, that's all. Thanks this guy." Lumiya said, and pointed at Luke, who went red. Jaina smiled and followed the Sith to the bar.

The group gathered at the bar, and K'Kruhk dealt with the ordering, getting Ben a gizer ale, and pointedly ignored the looks of annoyance on the face of Luke and Mara, though Mara's was directed at her husband rather than their Whiphid companion.

Ackmena served the drinks and smiled.

"Well, this is a rare honour. Such heroes," she said, then looked at Lumiya and her face soured a little, "and villains blessing our humble cantina."

"Yep...not changed much since we first met here has it? The only difference now is that Ackmena's behind the bar rather than Wuher. And old Obi Wan has been replaced by K'Kruhk, and we don't have Chewie..."

"And you instead have a wonderful family, a Sith guest and a load more wrinkles and grey hairs." Jacen chimed in, and Han and Luke both glowered at him.

Ackmena smiled. Unbeknownst to her guests, she was actually the leader of Freedom Flight, and she was delighted with everything that was going on in the anti slavery crusade. After all the years she had spent slowly freeing slaves and watching as the ones she couldn't help suffered, things were finally beginning to change. Ryloth was just the first step and now the slaves were demanding their freedom here on Tatooine. But she too was worried about the situation on Orvax. The news that the slaves there had revolted and had dislodged the slaver government, which was controlled by the T'Surr, had been wonderful. However, the exiled government, being made up mainly of the ferocious T'Surr species, had returned home and had summoned their greatest slaver, Nazarn, to the planet in order to take command of a task force that would be used to retake the world from the slaves.

In her work leading Freedom Flight, Ackmena had heard of Nazarn. A cold, merciless beast, he was vicious in his dealings with all sentients. He had once ripped the head off a young child simply because it had gotten lost on his ship, the _Unyielding_. A savage brute, he was feared throughout the Outer Rim and Corporate Sector, and it was said that even the Hutts disliked dealing with him because the slaves they got from him were so traumatised they were of little use to anyone. And now, that evil creature was about to lead a taskforce to retake Orvax for his government and then, he would have full reign over the rebellious slaves. Ackmena knew in her heart: if Nazarn landed on Orvax, the slaves would all be murdered, whether they were guilty of displacing his employers or not. And if he took Orvax, the anti slavery campaign would take a massive beating that it wouldn't be able to recover from.

"Forgive me for being so forward Master Skywalker, but I was wondering what the Jedi's policy on the anti slavery problem was?" she asked.

Luke shrugged.

"I'm sorry Ackmena, but I haven't been on Coruscant. All I know is that the Alliance is getting behind the slaves and is willing to bring pressure to bear in order to free as many as possible, and that Master Lobi has left Coruscant on a mission related to slavery." Luke explained, not wanting to divulge important military information.

Ackmena nodded.

"Then I hope she succeeds. The slaves are in revolt here too. Just last night, a Hutt crime boss was murdered by his Twi'lek slave dancer. She stuck a thermal detonator down his throat." She said, and they all winced.

"This stuff is quite nice." Ben said brightly as he sipped his ale, and Jacen grinned.

"Not wishing to alarm you, but we are being watched." Lumiya said quietly as she swirled her whisky.

"Who by?" Luke asked, none of them turning around, and Ackmena nodding worriedly to Tork, whose hand dropped to his blaster.

"Bounty hunters. Two of them." Lumiya said, and Han chanced a glance, then turned back with a groan.

"It's Bossk and Dengar. I thought Bossk was dead, and I thought Dengar had retired."

Ackmena looked over at Dengar pityingly.

"I heard he needs the money. His wife has a disease which is very expensive to treat, so he's been doing a bit of hunting to help support them." She explained.

"And with our luck, what's the betting that they aren't here for the same person we are?" Jaina asked darkly.

"But why would there be a bounty on Alema's head? The Alliance stepped back because the Ascendancy wanted Jag to get her, so there is no bounty." Mara disagreed.

Ackmena looked around then leaned in towards them.

"I heard them talking...apparently there is a massive bounty from the Ascendancy on Rar's head. Not that I told you that mind." She whispered.

Jaina looked at her mother.

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would the Chiss insist Jag get a chance to restore his family's honour, then hire bounty hunters to do the job for him?"

Leia pondered as she sipped her drink.

"Unless one of the families doesn't want Jag and his family to have their honour restored...unless they wish to make sure the Fels stay in poverty. After all, the Chiss aren't exactly known for being warm and friendly even with their own citizens, let alone those who are only part of the Ascendancy due to their involvement with the Empire of the Hand. Maybe one of the Families is trying to stop Jag winning hack his honour." She theorised.

"Oh bloody marvellous. Trust him to stay loyal to a bunch of frigid, unwelcoming neighbours. At least dad became an honorary Wookiee, and they at least know how to loosen up and have a good time." Jaina grumbled, and Mara patted her shoulder.

"It'll be ok kid. After we're done with her, we'll wrap her up in a nice gift box and sent her courier class to Jag. He can then shoot her and you two can get on with your lives." She said.

"Why courier class?" Han asked.

"Keep her hidden from bounty hunters. And besides, even if she does get nabbed by bounty hunters, we'll get a refund if she doesn't arrive properly!" Mara said cheerily, and Lumiya rolled her eyes.

"The fact that your family is the one that brought down the Empire is rather disturbing...you spend so much time talking nonsense it's a wonder you actually agreed how to blow up the first Death Star in the first place."

Luke, Leia and Han glared, while Jaina looked towards the door.

"Heads up." She said, her eyes narrowed, and Jacen could feel her mood dip slightly as she saw Alema Rar enter the cantina. But why did it drop? Was it to do with Alema, or Jag?

Alema Rar had once been a beautiful Twi'lek Jedi during the Yuuzhan Vong War. However, the loss of her sister Numa and her master Daeshara'cor, along with the savagery of the war itself, unhinged her slightly and she felt isolated and alone. When Raynar Thul had called through the Force to the survivors of the Myrkr mission, Alema, because of her anger and isolation had joined the dark side nest, Gorog, and had replaced Welk as the Night Herald. However, the defeat of Lomi Plo and the resulting destruction of the Dark Nest, combined with the mutilations she had suffered during the war at the hands of Luke and Leia, had driven her insane. Now, rather than the full bodied, beautiful dancer she had once been, she had become malformed.

Her left arm was withered and hung limply at her side, a relic of her first duel with Luke. It had taken on a shrunken, wasted appearance and she could only use it if she used to the Force to effect it. Her right lekku had been maimed by Leia in their duel aboard the _Admiral Ackbar_, Admiral Bwua'tu's flagship. As such, she was no longer able to communicate through her lekku with others of her own species. Leia had later cut off half her foot on Tenupe, leading to a very pronounced limp. Her body was also deformed, humped and lopsided, the legacy of the spidersloth which attacked her on Tenupe in the final battle of the war. And now, even her face was scarred. During an encounter with Jag the year before, he had slashed her with a vibroblade before she had made her escape, and had taken off her nose, leaving only two bloody slits that she used to breathe. Her mouth was now cut open, giving her a long slice going back from the left corner of her mouth, which had been the result of a duel with Mara before the Jedi had allowed Jag to hunt her. And her eye was now also missing, as four years before when she had still been on the run, she had foolishly attacked Jacen to try and make Leia suffer as she had. Jacen had easily defeated her, but when he had gone for the killing stroke she had leapt, but her twisted form had made her misjudge the position of his blade, and his saber had taken out her left eye.

"Emperor's Black Bones! What have you people done to her?" Lumiya demanded in horror, and for once feeling thankful she had only lost her limbs and had a few scars..

"And you thought you had it bad." K'Kruhk commented in shock, not actually expecting her to be that deformed.

"Yeah, at least you're still marginally sane. She's as barmy as the Emperor was evil." Han commented.

Alema lopped into the bar, deciding to ignore the fact that it had gone deathly silent as they observed the deformed Twi'lek. Bossk and Dengar looked at each other in surprise, then Bossk grinned wickedly as both went for their blasters.

"No blasters, no blasters." Ackmena hissed, knowing her wish and the cantina's policy was about to be broken.

"I want served." Alema said, but before Ackmena could ask what she wanted a man clad all in black arrived and pressed a blaster to Alema's hump, a result of her stooped walk.

"Gotcha." Jagged Fel said triumphantly, and pulled down the hood he was wearing to reveal his black hair, scarred eye, and lock of white hair that went back from it. Jaina felt her heart jump as she saw the face of her boyfriend, and realised she had missed him loads...but she knew full well he wouldn't be interested in her until he took care of Alema. And as they were about to kidnap her...well things could get frosty between them.

"Now Jag...no blasters. And besides, you can't kill me...I need to bring...Balance!" she roared and blasted him across the room with a Force push.

The Jedi lit their sabers and leapt into action, but the Dark Jedi was already on the move, her blade coming down at Jag's head. Jag grimaced and brought his forearms in front of his face, and the blade shorted out. Jag then kicked a surprised Alema in the stomach and fired at her. Alema backflipped, and found herself facing K'Kruhk. Using the Force, she grabbed a set of tables and threw them at the family, and then she dashed for the door, with Bossk and Dengar hot on her tail.

The Jedi dashed outside to see Bossk and Dengar running away from Alema, who leapt onto a slave protestor's swoop, gunned the engine and took off in a cloud of dust. Jag then shouldered Han and Luke out of the way, and snatched another swoop, quickly following, to the ire of the slave protestors.

"Hello to you too." Han said grumpily, then Jaina came out of the cantina, leaping onto a speeder bike and gunning the engine after Alema and Jag.

"Wait, Jaina!" Jacen moaned in exasperation, and he leapt onto another speeder bike, and was joined by Ben, and the two of them shot off, leading the slave protestors to withdraw blasters and cock them at the group.

"You know, you Jedi are lucky grand theft auto isn't a capital crime." Lumiya commented, and she leapt into a V-35 Courier model, and was quickly followed by Leia and Mara.

"Now, watch how a real woman drives!" Lumiya boasted and ignited the engine.

"Hey, that's mine!" a moisture farmer yelled.

"Jedi business, we'll return it in good nick!" Mara cried as the speeder shot off.

"Hmph. Rogue Squadron said that to great uncle Huff, and look what happened to that."

K'Kruhk shook his head at the bursts of dust which were Alema and her pursuers.

"Always on the move." He sighed, and Luke dashed over to a X-34 landspeeder.

"Wait a minute..." he said as he looked over the brown vehicle.

"Just get in kid!" Han yelled and leapt into the passenger's seat, while Luke started the engines.

"By the Force..." a female Vuvrian said as K'Kruhk leapt into the landspeeder and landed on his belly, before rolling off the seats and getting trapped between the driver seat and the back seats.

"Damn it!" he cried as Luke waved everyone off.

"Jedi business, very important!" he cried as the landspeeder shot off, while K'Kruhk tried to wedge himself out of his predicament.

The various speeders shot across the desert, coaxing every bit of speed possible out of their vehicles. K'Kruhk finally managed to unwedge himself and gave a yelp as he looked up.

"What is it?" Han asked as the wind blew through his hair.

"Please tell me that isn't what I think it is!" the aged Jedi responded, and Luke and Han looked up to see a LAAT, flanked by four Skyhoppers, bearing down in them.

"Oh Sithspit!" Luke said, as one of the ball turrets opened fire and he had to swerve to avoid.

Lumiya looked up in shock as the LAAT, which Mara could barely see Dengar and Bossk riding in the hold of, followed them, the front lasers pounding at them and the sand it hit turning to glass.

"Oh buggeration!" Lumiya cried and swerved out of the way of the laser fire, before taking them up a canyon path, which bumped the three women about as they traversed the rocky road.

"This-is-why- you-don't-take-shortcuts!" Leia managed as the gunship came alongside them, and Bossk and Dengar started firing with their blasters. Mara managed to get to her feet and began to deflect shots with her lightsaber, which scattered Bossk, but Mara went pale as she saw that there was an entire swoop gang in the hold.

"Down! We need to go down!" she yelled urgently as the entire gang opened fire.

"I hate backseat drivers. Hold on!" Lumiya called and gunned the engine, veering sharply to the right and the speeder shot off the canyon path and went into freefall before landing with a thump on the sand beneath the LAAT. However, their pursuers weren't about to let them go that easy, and one of the Skyhoppers zoomed underneath the gunship and opened fire.

"Oh kriff." Mara hissed, turned and threw her active lightsaber at the attacking craft.

She could just make out the pilot swearing before the blade sliced through the top stabilising wing and the craft careened off into the canyon wall where it exploded. Mara nodded in satisfaction and sat back down, and to her great relief, Lumiya shut the cockpit.

"Bit too blowy...me veil might come off." Lumiya said as she pursued the others.

Luke watched as his wife dispatched one skyhopper, then hissed as he realised the explosion may damage their speeder. He grunted and twirled the speeder away from the explosion, driving the speeder into a wild spin.

"Luke-I-hate-your-wife!" Han yelled as fiery debris rained down on them all.

K'Kruhk grunted and used the Force to create a bubble around the speeder.

"Get us under control!" he barked, and Luke finally managed to do so, and then just managed to avoid the original top wing of the skyhopper falling on them as they followed the others.

"Jaina, what are you doing here?" Jag demanded as he accelerated after Alema.

"Look, I know what this seems like, but it isn't! But we need Alema! If you bothered to answer my calls, you would know this already." She grumbled as the two shot onwards.

"No! You can't take Alema! It's the only way I can get back my honour!" Jag yelled, then winced as a cannon shot barely missed the two of them.

"Jag, there is more at stake here than your honour!" Jaina yelled and in her irritation, she deflected the next laser blast with her lightsaber, and the skyhopper that fired exploded and the debris settled into the side of the canyon.

"Good shot sis." Jacen said as the gunship fired with its ball turrets.

"Can you deflect those blasts?" Ben asked from behind Jacen.

"Don't know, ask K'Kruhk, that thing came from the Clone Wars!" Jacen said, then began to cough.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked in concern as the other two skyhoppers and the gunship continued to gain on them and their quarry.

"Swallowed a bug." Jacen wheezed, and Ben giggled, before lighting his saber.

"Go left!" he ordered, and Jacen did so and they shot up a narrow path and came out on top of the rocky canyon.

"Ben, what are you planning?" Jacen asked worriedly, and he received his answer the next moment as his cousin leapt off the speeder bike.

"BEN!" he hollered in panic.

Down in their own landspeeder, Leia was looking up at the gunship, which was a bit too close to her daughter and her boyfriend, and had Jacen in its sights, and then frowned as something dark with vivid red hair leapt from the top of the canyon.

"What was that?" she asked, and Lumiya smiled in amusement.

"I believe it was the very rare, and now endangered species of Ben Skywalker. He's going after the skyhopper." She said with a grin, and Leia and Mara's mouths dropped open.

As he was busy driving and Han was busy shooting up at the swoop gang in the gunships hold, neither of them noticed the new flyer in the mix. K'Kruhk however did.

"Oh, his grandfather would be so proud." He said reminiscently.

Alema growled. Fel she could handle. The Skywalker/Solo clan, complete with Whiphid and Sith Lord, she couldn't. She also couldn't handle the pursuing gunship.

"This is not right for the Balance!" she whined as she headed down the next canyon.

Ben landed on the cockpit of the skyhopper and quickly cut it open. The pilot looked at the teenager with horror, then leapt out with a scream, resulting in him smashing hard into the sand. Ben grinned and took the vacant seat and gunned the engine, and smiled as he found the fire control.

The gunships ball turret was about to hit Jacen, and Ben fired, blasting it apart. The gunship was blown to the side by the impact, and its larger wing sheared the last skyhopper in half, and it bounced as it hit the ground and tumbled to a stop. Ben then accelerated alongside the gunship, and he saw the furious face of Bossk levelling a rocket launcher at him.

"Oh nuts..." Ben said and fired the engine, but not quickly enough.

The rocket took out the engine and sent the skyhopper into a wild spin. Ben tried valiantly to pull the craft up and when it was close enough to the ground, he leapt out, coming to a rolling stop in the sand. His skyhopper smashed into the arch of rocks at the end of the canyon, sending them down in a deadly cascade.

"Whoa, I gotta get me one of those!" Ben said in excitement.

Ben got to his feet and saw he had outpaced Alema, and the insane Twi'lek was coming towards him at a hell of a pace, with a furious Jag and Jaina right behind. Ben leapt aside and cut downwards as Alema went past, and the Dark Jedi gave a scream as her swoop spiralled in a circle, forcing her to leap to the sand.

"Little whelp. Your suffering might just pay your daddy back for my arm." She purred and leapt at him, her blade coming down at him.

Ben went on the defensive, utilising Shii-Cho just as K'Kruhk had taught him. Alema's attacks were ferocious as she came at him, but they were also uncoordinated, a reflection of her personality, and Ben calmly held her off with his simple defence. He then swerved to avoid a vicious cut and swept his blade up, and she screeched in pain as one of her blue ear cones came off the side of her head, leaving a deep gash.

"Hehe, oops, sorry." He said sheepishly as she touched the scar dazedly, then screeched, diving for his stomach with her saber.

However, before she could do so, two missiles shot into the rocks that Ben's skyhopper had brought down, knocking them both off their feet with the explosion. The force of the blast knocked Jaina and Jag off of their speeders as they came to a stop as well.

"We need to stop that gunship!" Luke cried, seeing the danger his son was in.

"Leave that to me. I'm an old hand at bringing these down." K'Kruhk said and gathered the Force to him, leaping high into the air to land on the wing of the hovering gunship. He then stabbed the missile tubes, preventing them from firing again, and he was immediately beset by blaster fire from Dengar, Bossk and the swoop gang. K'Kruhk flipped to the canyon side, then propelled himself into the hold, his saber cutting the first three swoopies in half. He then blasted another two with a Force push and cut the hands off two more, before deflecting laser fire into the other two. Dengar and Bossk leapt out of the gunship, leaving K'Kruhk behind. K'Kruhk then growled as he saw Bossk had taken the rocket launcher he had used to bring Ben down with him, and nudged the rocket with the Force, slamming it into the wall. K'Kruhk then jumped, his blade high above his head in a swing that cut the wing off the gunship and with a last mournful whine of repulsors, it slid from the air and crashed into the sand.

K'Kruhk landed just in time to see Bossk aim at the form of Ben, who was struggling to get to his feet. Bossk hissed in triumph, until a blue lightsaber took his left arm off, making the launcher too heavy. A furious Mara then jumped across to the two bounty hunters. Dengar threw down his weapon and sat down, his face pained, but Bossk was not quite so easy to defeat. He whipped out his blaster and opened fire several times before two blaster shots caught him in the face. The Trandoshan gave a final hiss from his dead mouth and then his body toppled to the ground, and Mara turned to see Han glaring at Bossk's body in irritation.

Alema and Ben had recovered and were back at it, and with an elegant parry, Ben took off a finger from Alema's useful hand. Screaming in rage, she let her guard down and Jacen leapt down from above, blasting her with a Force push that made her drop her saber. Ben then pointed his saber at Alema's neck, only to quickly reverse his blade to deflect a blaster shot.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jacen demanded furiously, pointing his saber at a grim Jag, who had just fired at Ben.

"Sorry Jacen, but Alema belongs to me." He said determinedly, then winced as a purple blade came up in his path.

"Lower the blaster Jag." Jaina demanded angrily.

Ben looked at Jag in disbelief. He had always sort of looked up to Jag as an honourable man, but here he was, willing to take Ben's head off if it meant getting his honour back.

"Ben!" Mara yelled in panic, as Alema reached for her blow pipe and fired a poison dart at her son.

She leapt into the way of the dart, which struck her in the shoulder, and she dropped to the ground, convulsing. Leia, looking the maddest she had ever been, snarled and blasted Alema with a mighty Force push that smashed her into the wall of rocks that had been dislodged, where she went limp and fell to the floor.

"Mom!" Ben cried urgently as he and Luke ran to her side, looking frantic.

Jaina glowered at her boyfriend.

"If she dies because of you..." she said warningly, and watched as her twin sunk to his knees, and began to apply the Force. Luke and Ben both watched him and Mara intently, then relaxed as he smiled as he located the poison and began to purge it from her body.

"And what do we do with you?" Lumiya asked a wheezing Dengar as K'Kruhk came over.

"Are you wounded?" he asked, and Lumiya smiled at him.

"Well isn't that a nice change? Someone actually asking about my wellbeing." She said with a grin, and K'Kruhk chuckled.

"I actually meant Dengar." He said, and patted her shoulder, while she rolled her eyes.

"Typical." She muttered.

"Yeah...busted my rib when I jumped out the gunship." He explained.

K'Kruhk began applying the Force, while Jacen sighed in relief as Mara's eyes opened.

"Ow, what happened?" she asked woozily as Luke kissed her and Ben hugged her.

"Oh, you only nearly got yourself killed in this timeline too, no big deal." Leia said cattily.

Lumiya was crouched over Alema, and injected her with a sedative.

"That should keep you quiet for a while. Now, let's see how well this goes down." Lumiya said cheerily to Alema's unconscious form, and sat down on a rock to watch the show.

K'Kruhk guided Dengar to stand in front of the assembled group, which Jag was keeping to the edges of, knowing full well that he was in for some severe trouble. But first, they had to deal with the bounty hunter.

"Dengar, why were you trying to capture Alema?" Luke asked in his soft voice, and Dengar looked uncertain in face of the Grand Master of the Order.

"The job paid well. One of the Chiss families are paying a fortune for Alema to be killed and for her head to be brought to them." He explained, and Jag went pale, his eyes widening in shock.

"That can't be! The ruling families decreed that I was allowed to bring her to justice myself. They wouldn't do that, he has to be lying." He said certainly, and Jaina rolled her eyes.

"I know you think the Chiss are above everything Jag, but maybe one of the families don't want the Fels regaining their standing within the Ascendancy."

"Yeah, maybe you shot at one of their cousins too." Jacen said irritably, and Ben grinned at him while Jag at least managed to look ashamed.

"Well, with all due respect to your skills kid, that was four years ago. Maybe they got tired of waiting."

"Why did you take the job? I thought you had retired." Han said, his blaster pointed at the bounty hunter.

Dengar looked grim, and his eyes seemed sad.

"Manaroo, my wife, has contracted Knowt's Disease. It's only in the first stages, but we need enough money to pay for the initial treatment and the aftercare, and she refuses to let me use the main account holdings to pay for her treatment, because if she died I wouldn't be able to support myself." He explained.

Luke understood. One of his crushes, Gaeriel Captison had married Pter Thanas, the leader of the Imperial forces at the Battle of Bakura, and he had later died from Knowt's Disease a couple of years before the First Corellian Insurrection. Medical advances had recently been made, meaning that it could be treated and cured, but only if it was caught in the first stage of the disease. And as it was so new, the money required to be cured was ridiculously expensive...something like a quarter or a million credits just for the initial treatment, then a few thousand for every bit of aftercare after that. That meant that Alema had to be worth quite a bit.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So, you took the job on Alema, and you and Bossk would off the swoopies and split it fifty fifty?" Mara asked, and Dengar nodded.

"Yeah...but obviously you'll be taking Alema, so I get nothing." Dengar said, as if resigned to the fact.

Luke and Mara then exchanged looks, and seemed to be having a mental conversation. Mara then nodded, and Luke smiled at Dengar.

"Well Dengar, perhaps you can recoup some of your losses. You see, the Jedi are missing a Jedi, Qwallo Mode, who disappeared some months ago. Our own investigations have turned up nothing, but perhaps a bounty hunter could succeed where the Jedi have failed." Luke said suggestively, and Dengar gave a wicked grin.

"How much does it pay?" he asked.

"Sixty two thousand five hundred credits. It isn't the full amount, but it is a start." Luke said, and Dengar nodded.

"Then Jedi, you've got a deal." Dengar said, and they shook on it.

Confident that that matter was dealt with, Luke, Mara and Jacen then turned and trapped Ben in between them, and he knew he was about to get into a lot of trouble.

"And what the hell were you thinking young man?" Mara asked, tapping her foot with her hands on her hips, looking stern.

Ben shrugged, looking sheepish.

"We needed to bring them down, otherwise they might have toasted Jaina, so I trusted the Force and sort of jumped." He said uncertainly.

"It was certainly a novel tactic, but please don't do anything like that again. It may have worked this time, but what if you had mistimed it? We'd have been scraping you off the side of the canyon." Luke said.

"Or if you do do something that daft again, make sure I'm not there to see it. You nearly gave me heart failure." Jacen scolded then ruffled Ben's hair.

They all then turned to Jag.

"And what the hell were you thinking, shooting at Ben?" Luke demanded.

Jag did manage to look sorry, but not as sorry as he should have done.

"I'm sorry Master Skywalker, but she is the key to getting my honour back! I refuse to let anyone come in the way of that!"

Jaina's eyes flashed.

"Well if you answered any of my messages you would know the reason why we need her. And for the record, shooting at my little cousin isn't a good sign for our relationship!" she said cattily, and the two began bickering.

Lumiya then walked over, and sharply whistled, bringing everyone's attention over to her.

"That's better. Now...we have Alema, the swoopies and Bossk are dead, and none of us are dead. We've done all we needed to, so why don't we all head back to Mos Eisley and then talk everything over like sensible human beings?"

They all agreed and Leia turfed Alema into the back of her speeder. Luke, Han and K'Kruhk went back to their speeder and Luke caressed his hand down it.

"Why did you hesitate earlier young one?" K'Kruhk asked.

"Because this is mine!" he said with certainty, and Han looked at him incredulously.

"What? No way!"

"It is, its the speeder I sold the day I first met you to get us to Alderaan." Luke said in delight as he took in every curve of his old speeder.

"Dad, can I get a skyhopper?" Ben asked hopefully, and Luke, who wasn't paying much attention, answered rather foolishly.

"Yeah, sure."

"Score!"

Luke then realised what he said and made a noise of terror as he saw the thunderous look on Mara's face, which rather offset the massive smile he had put on Ben's.

XX

Alema was restrained in the med room on the ship, while everyone else dealt with other matters. Dengar had gone home to prepare his ship, _Punishing One_ for the mission Luke had hired him for. Han and Leia were recovering from the day's events over another drink in the cantina, where they chatted to Ackmena about the slavery problem. Mara contacted Kam to inform him of Dengar's job for them, and when she hung up she was rather concerned. They would have to tell the Council, Chief A'kla and Admiral Niathal what they were up to soon. Meanwhile, Luke and Ben said they had some business to discuss with a Vuvrian by the name of Wioslea. K'Kruhk meanwhile prepared the ship for takeoff, while Jaina and Jag had a massive blazing row outside the ship.

"Not once do you call me, all you do is go 'Alema this' 'Alema that'. You're obsessed with her!"

Jag shook his head angrily.

"I've told you why that is! If I kill Alema, then I get my honour back! I'm doing this for us!"

Jaina rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"I don't want your honour you idiot, I just want my boyfriend." She said in a tense voice.

"Yeah, but you know I'm an honourable guy, so I need my honour back to even be halfway worthy of dating you!" he shouted.

"But you are worthy, you don't seem to get that! I love you, but you're too fixated on your 'honour' to care! How many times do we meet up, then I wake up the next morning to find you've gone on your quest for honour!" she yelled.

Unnoticed by either of them, Lumiya was sitting on a crate and watching the entire exchange whilst eating a small bag of popcorn.

"What are you saying? That I should give up and live out my days alone and friendless?"

"What? No! I'm saying you have more in your life than your quest for honour! But you don't seem to appreciate that! I come second to your honour, and frankly I'm getting fed up of coming second place. Did you even know that I lost my hand or were you too fixated on your quest to care?"

"You think I don't care about you? You are so wrong! I'm doing this for you, for us, so we can be together!"

"Well I'm fed up of being the third one in this relationship. You and your honour obviously matter more than you and me!" she shouted, getting really angry at how stubborn he was being.

"Well it's not as if that matters anymore though is it! You lot are taking Alema away, blowing any chance of me getting my honour back out of the water!" Jag yelled back, furious at how selfish she was being.

"We're taking her because the fate of the galaxy is at stake!"

"By the Force, you are _so_ dramatic. You come and tell me when you want to finish being the great fairy princess who always has to rescue the galaxy and we might get somewhere!"

"Well I'm sorry if my job as Sword of the Jedi means I don't conform to your idea of a good submissive woman!" she yelled furiously, not even caring that that wasn't what he was getting at.

"I don't want a submissive woman, I want you! But now I see how high maintenance you are maybe I shouldn't bother! The galaxy revolves around Coruscant, not Jaina Solo, but you seem to think it does!"

"Whereas you think it revolves around your honour! It's me or that!" she said with a dreadful finality, and Lumiya sat forward in excitement.

"Well if you think I should change so drastically for you, then maybe we should just break up! I lost my honour for you, and I need to feel worthy of you, and without my honour I don't! So, do you want to break up, or is the fact that I'm an honourable man something you can cope with?"

Jaina gave a very sarcastic laugh.

"Honourable? You nearly blew Ben's head off! How is that honourable? If you think your honour is worth killing Ben for, you're as nutty as Alema is!"

"Fine! My quest to get my honour back is too much for you obviously! So I reckon we should just break up!"

"Good, suits me!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Jaina then turned, gave a furious sob and dashed into the ship, while a sour faced Jag ran out of the hangar, shoving a bewildered Jacen out of the way as he did so.

"Oh, that was the most fun I've had in ages! Ten out of ten for performance! But the script could use a little work." Lumiya said to herself, finished her popcorn and walked over to Jacen.

"Did they just break up? Is that what they did?" he asked urgently, more concerned about the storm of emotions he was getting from his sister rather than the fact that Lumiya had been watching the entire affair.

"Yep. Jaina was fed up of coming second to his honour, Jag was fed up of her not realising how important his honour is to him and appreciating that he gave it up for her in the first place. It was quite the show." She said brightly, then headed onto the ship, and Jacen dashed inside to find his sister.

XX

He found her looking miserable on her bunk, with tears in her eyes. Sitting down beside her, she snuggled into his arms.

"Men are scum." She said tearfully as he stroked her hair.

"Am I scum?"

"No you're not scum." She sniffed and lay in her brother's arms.

XX

Luke smiled as he finished his business, but the smile quickly faded as he met Mara outside.

"What are you two so happy about?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um, well, that is to say...I bought back my landspeeder." He mumbled.

Mara gave a high laugh.

"Honey, I thought you just said you bought back your old landspeeder. But, we have a speeder back on Coruscant. So why would we need another one?"

Luke smiled winningly, but Ben could see that his mother was changing into her expression which resembled a very ferocious tusk cat.

"Because it can be an heirloom for Ben. It was mine and one day it will be his!"

Ben could see that the vein in his mother's head was getting larger as her exasperation with her husband grew. Ben already stood to inherit all of their possessions, which included the _Jade Shadow_, and now Luke had gone and bought back his forty odd year old landspeeder at a considerable expense.

Mara narrowed her green eyes.

"Next you'll be telling me you bought him a skyhopper as well." She said dangerously, but when neither of them answered her laser like eyes, she swelled in fury.

"You did?" she demanded furiously.

"It was cheap! The two of us can work on it together, and then he can fly it just like I did in my youth!"

Mara was going red and Ben wondered if his dad's life insurance was paid up, because it seemed like his mother might be about to kill him.

"You bought back your old landspeeder, and a skyhopper for our son, which knowing Coruscant can be very dangerous, and didn't bother to consult me?" she demanded, and Luke went the colour of Hoth.

"Um, no dear, we thought..."

"SKYWALKER!"

Ben didn't wait around to see what happened and slipped off as his furious mother started ranting at her husband, exasperated by his actions.

XX

As they all got ready to depart, Alema awoke to find Lumiya at the foot of her bed.

"You! You did this to us!" she yelled, and Lumiya rolled her eyes.

"No. The Skywalkers and Solos turned you into the pitiful creature you have become."

"Have you come to laugh at us? We do not like it when people laugh at us." Alema said haughtily, wishing she had her saber so she could wipe that self assured smile off of Lumiya's face.

"Why did they bring us here?" Alema asked curiously, as Lumiya hesitantly undone the binder around her leg.

"There is a threat afoot in the galaxy, that threatens the Jedi, the Sith, and perhaps all life itself. As such, they figured we needed another dark side presence other than me, and you somehow manage to fit that bill." She said, undoing the other leg.

"Perhaps the extinction of both will be good for the Balance." Alema said suggestively.

"No. The galaxy needs both to maintain order, at least at the moment."

Alema looked at her maimed body pitifully, and touched the scar Ben had given her with her freed hand.

"What do we care if the galaxy lives or dies? We have no one left, our next is gone. Our sister is gone. Our master is gone. All that is left is us...and the Balance." She whispered, and Lumiya looked at her, as though concerned for her sanity, and then figured the poor girl was already as mad as a reek in mating season anyway, so shrugged it off.

"But if that was all that was left, what is the point in you living?" Lumiya pointed out, wondering what drove the mutilated girl now.

"We have told you, we serve the Balance! We must bring Balance!" Alema raved, and her one remaining eye rolled madly, making Lumiya pull back slightly from the insane Dark Jedi.

"Bring balance to the Force? You're no Anakin Skywalker." She stated, but Alema shook her head.

"You do not understand! We serve the Balance. All that has been done to me, must be paid back to those who did it to me!" she whined, and Lumiya nodded in understanding.

"Ah, I see. You feel you must make Leia suffer as you have suffered, Luke, Jacen, Ben, Jag, they must all suffer the pain you felt. I see."

"Yes, we must bring Balance." Alema said, then smiled her lopsided smile.

"You could help us. You could help us bring back Balance. They took our beauty, our society from us, you could help us pay them back, make them pay and limp and suffer!" she said excitedly.

Lumiya arched an eyebrow.

"What do you have in mind my nutty comrade?" she asked.

Alema sat up and grinned at the Sith, a slightly spooky grin that might have made her arms come out in goosebumps, provided she had any.

"You could help us turn one of Leia's brats dark, her deepest fear. We could make it become reality. She should pay for taking our beauty from us." She said, but Lumiya shook her head.

"There is no point in doing this just to get back at her for mutilating you. I too was considered beautiful once. But if you ask me, there is no point in fighting for something that you would have lost eventually anyway. However, if you wished to fight for your revenge, for the dark side, to further my aims, which would in turn serve yours, then we might have an accord." Lumiya said, and Alema looked at her curiously.

"You already seek to turn Jacen or Jaina?" she asked in excitement, but her heart fell when the Sith shook her head.

"No. But believe me, if you serve me well and do as I say, your tormentors will indeed suffer, and your Balance will be restored."

Alema gave a wheezing giggle, then tilted her head.

"And if we do not?"

"Then I will kill you. Nothing can be allowed to interfere with my plans. That includes you. So, do you promise to be a good girl?" Lumiya asked in a voice that she would maybe use if she was ever affectionate to children, and Alema nodded eagerly.

"Good! Then we have a deal then Alema Rar." Lumiya said triumphantly, her eyes flashing malevolently.

XX

Quinlan sighed in frustration as they finally reached the volcano. All of the other teams were dead, they had felt the Jedi get snuffed out through the Force. And everyone else in their team was also dead, aside from himself, his son, Drake and Ekria Logaan.

"Master?" Ekria asked nervously, her once blue hair now going purple with age.

"Onwards, but slowly." Quinlan ordered, and the four Jedi edged forward and entered the volcano where Abeloth dwelt.

The four lit their sabers and entered the dark inner volcano. There was some residual heat here, and that made Quinlan concerned. They were obviously dealing with something way beyond their capabilities. K'Kruhk had been right not to support this mission. But they were trapped here now. And maybe, just maybe, they would get lucky.

"There's no one here dad." Korto said, his blue saber raised high.

"Then where is she?" Drake asked.

"Through." Quin stated simply, and led the four of them into a large courtyard, covered in ruins.

But there was still no sign of Abeloth. So where was the beast?

"What have you done with my father?" Korto suddenly demanded, and Quinlan looked around in panic to see his son brandishing his saber.

"Korto, I'm right here! Ignore her, see past her visions! I'm here!"

"Korto, he's right there, look! See!" Ekria urged, but Korto gave a cry.

"My father, what have you done with him?"

And then Quinlan felt a horrible cold, a darkness, unlike any he had ever felt while working for Count Dooku during the Clone Wars. The tendrils of darkness wrapped around his wrists and legs, and his saber dropped to the ground as his hand became someone else's.

And then, his mouth opened and spoke.

"_Confront me if you can boy_."

The voice was not his own, and was terrible, feminine. And he knew what it meant.

"Korto, no!" Drake yelled, and Quinlan watched, unable to do anything as Drake Force pushed his son away from the man he was about to kill.

"_Foolish Jedi_." The voice cursed, and a terrible scream emitted from Quinlan's mouth.

Ekria was quick off the mark, using the Force to protect herself, and Korto was out of range due to Drake's Force push. Drake himself however, was not so lucky. Overextended due to his saving of Korto and Quinlan, he couldn't protect himself in time. His saber dropped to the ground as he knelt down in pain, clutching his head. Blood started to pour from his eyes and nose as he clutched at his head. His eyes then burst and blood gushed out from his head as the scream got louder. Ekria could only watch in fixated horror as her husband's once handsome face became a mess, and he gave a final wail before his head blew apart from the noise.

"NO!" she yelled and Quinlan could feel her anger growing.

"Fight it!" he said, and he felt Abeloth get forced from him as he concentrated and brought the light to bear.

Some fog then cleared to reveal Abeloth standing atop a pillar. Ekria glared up at her and sprang, her blue blade going for Abeloth's throat. Abeloth gave a throaty laugh and grabbed Ekria's head and legs with her tendrils. Quinlan knew a second before what was about to befall Ekria. The younger woman gave a furious, impotent cry before Abeloth pulled her head off and let her body fall to the floor.

"Korto, run!" Quinlan roared to his son, who had just got back to his feet.

Korto did so, looking desperately back to his father as he did so. Quinlan used the Force to light the other two sabers and threw them at Abeloth, before leaping himself. Abeloth sneered in contempt, and with a powerful push, blasted the two sabers backwards so they took off Quinlan's arms. Quinlan let off a roar of pain, then managed to focus, and crushed the thermal detonator on his belt.

As his body was incinerated, Quinlan saw with some satisfaction that the pillar Abeloth was on disintegrated and the foul creature was knocked spinning, fire licking at her.

Korto ran, trying to stop the tears he felt for his father. His mother, Khaleen, had died a few years previous, and while Korto had his own son and daughter, both of which had two kids of their own, he still lamented his end. But, perhaps he could still be of some use.

He knelt down and immersed himself in the Force, feeling outside of the Maw. He touched T'ra Saa's, for all intents his grandmother, presence and focused on sending a last message.

_T'ra...all of us are dead. I soon will be too. You must find out more about Abeloth, or she will annihilate the galaxy!_

Korto then opened his eyes and turned, to see a grinning Abeloth. Her mouth then opened, Korto fell in, and he was no more.

XX

T'ra fought back tears as she felt Korto get snuffed out. Another one she loved that she had lost.

But her honorary grandson was right. They needed to find out more about Abeloth. Nodding grimly, she sent a message to K'Kruhk.

XX

The ship was quiet. They had decided to stay the night on Tatooine, in the ship of course. Alema seemed to be relatively calm, and Lumiya had explained what was going on, and the lunatic had seemed to grasp most of it. However, how long she would remain relatively congenial was questionable. Luke meanwhile was concerned about how quickly Alema and Lumiya seemed to have meshed together. He was in the bad books with Mara for buying the speeder and skyhopper, and he felt it best to stay out of her way until she calmed down a little. And he did have to agree, they would have to tell the Council about their mission soon. Han wasn't pleased about the fact that Alema was now getting to stroll casually around the ship, neither was Leia too to be fair. Jaina was too busy being sad about her breakup with Jag, and Jacen was too busy comforting her, and K'Kruhk was in the comm station and didn't seem particularly happy with what he was hearing.

Alema was moved in with Jacen, Ben and Jaina, so they could keep an eye on her, and also make it more difficult for Lumiya to contact her mentally if the mood took her. There was some wisdom to this, Ben supposed.

He was walking down the corridor, when he looked in to the quarters and saw Lumiya meditating on the bed.

"Well that's about as helpful as a poke in the eye. Literally even." She harrumphed, and looked up to see him.

"Hello Ben. What can I do for you?" she asked politely, and Ben had to admit, she was relatively nice for a Sith, when she wanted to be.

"What's as helpful as a poke in the eye?" he asked curiously, leaning against the doorframe.

She looked at him, then beckoned him inwards.

"I was trying to figure out Alema's alignment. You will agree that she's as daft as a hat?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I don't need to be a psychologist to see she's bonkers. Why?"

"Well I was trying to use the Force to see where her allegiances lay. Light, dark, in the middle. But she is a curious one. All of her is intermingled into a bizarre kaleidoscope of colours which I can't make heads nor tails of."

Ben looked at her curiously.

"You can see what side people support through the Force?" he asked.

Lumiya nodded.

"Yes indeed. A useful technique when dealing with Force sensitive foes actually, to see if they would be willing to join you or not. Have you heard of the Miraluka?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Is this thing you're doing the same way they see?"

Lumiya looked uncertain, then shrugged.

"I believe it is much the same, yes. For example, you are blue when I use the technique. Were you to use it on me, I suspect I would be a deep red. Does that make sense?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. Sounds pretty cool...could you teach me it?" he asked.

He didn't know what made him say it. But the technique did sound rather interesting, and it was just a harmless little Force technique that wasn't really harming anyone. And besides, it might help with the crazy Jedi situation. He knew his parents would disapprove, but what was one little Force technique? And she was probably the only one on board who might know this technique, as as far as he knew Jacen hadn't met any Miraluka on his voyage, and K'Kruhk seemed a bit down at the moment.

"Certainly. Sit with me." She said, and Ben sat on the bed, facing her.

"First close your eyes, block out all distractions..." she said in her soothing, teaching voice that made Ben hang on her every word, "now, focus on me. Listen to me breathe, but do not focus on the sound. Focus past it...to the life force, maimed though it is," she added tartly, "that lies behind it. Imagine the energy, the shape and feel of that life force, in tandem with the breathing. Now, step back in your mind's eye and see what vision remains."

Ben did as instructed, following her melodious instructions, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Lumiya for what she truly was. Her arms and legs were deep grey, with no colour at all, and hardly visible against the black and white background of the ship's wall. However, her torso and head however, were a vivid, deep red, the sort of scarlet you would find in a Sith lightsaber.

"Cool." He said impressed, and she smiled.

"You grasp such arcane techniques quickly. Interesting. Was I red?"

Ben nodded.

"Good. Now, combine that lesson with your last, but do not seek to see into the minds of the others, just seek to see them, and tell me what you see." Lumiya said, wondering if he would be able to manage this.

Ben did so, centring himself and seeing throughout the ship, just as she had taught him before. And then, he saw the others for what they really were. His father was a deep blue, the colour of an ocean from space. His mother's hue was a little lighter, a bit paler, and curiously there were little spots of red on her face, which he supposed was because she was still mad at Luke. Leia was much the same colour, a deep blue, but just a shade darker than Mara, pointing to a better light side connection. Mind you, she wasn't infuriated with her husband for buying a landspeeder they didn't need and a skyhopper for their sixteen year old son. Han was much the same colour as his wife and sister in law, not as dark as Luke or Leia, and maybe not even as Mara, but maybe a shade or two lighter, going paler. K'Kruhk was also a deep blue, close to his father's shade. Jaina was lighter, a paler blue than the rest, and Jacen was still blue, but Ben could see that a few shades lighter and he would be grey. Curious. And then he saw Alema.

"Whoa." He said as he came back to himself.

"I am impressed. Jacen should be proud." She said.

"I see what you meant about Alema. She's red, blue, grey, purple, black, white...boy she's messed up."

Lumiya snorted in amusement.

"We can agree on that. Now run along young one. It would not do for your bad tempered mother to discover me teaching you yet more Force techniques." She said with a smile, and Ben grinned.

"Thanks Lumiya." He said and made his escape.

"No Ben, thank you." She said with a wicked smile.

XX

K'Kruhk looked mournfully at the report T'ra had sent him. All of those Jedi dead...he wished they had listened to him. But now, it was clear. The galaxy was not ready to confront this monstrosity. So, they had work to do. But where to do it? Pondering, he left the comm station, totally oblivious to Ben's presence at the doorway.

"Hello to you too." He said, slightly put out as the old Jedi passed.

He then looked cautiously up the corridor, before entering the comm station.

He shouldn't be doing this. After all, this was Jaina's business. But, he hated seeing her so miserable. Jacen had told him that their best defence was to just take her side and not get involved.

But what did you do when you thought both players had made a mistake? Jag and Jaina loved each other, that much was clear, and the only ones happy about the breakup were Han, because he was Jaina's father, and Lumiya, because she got a bit of entertainment out of it. But Ben only wanted to help his cousin.

As such, he keyed in the number for the Antilles apartment.

Iella Wessiri Antilles smiled as she answered the comm.

"Oh hello Ben, how are you?" she asked.

"Hey Aunt Iella." He said, grinning at her.

Though not a real aunt, he called her aunt, just like he called Tendra aunt because she was one of the family's closest friends, just like Winter was.

"What's wrong? You look a bit down about something." She asked, her Intelligence training allowing her to see past his cheerful demeanour.

"Well, I just wondered...is Uncle Wedge there?" he asked, wondering his long it would be before someone found out he was talking to her.

"No sweetie, I'm sorry, he's still on his mission for Admiral Niathal with Tycho, Wes and Hobbie. I can help if you want." She offered, and Ben shrugged.

"Well, it's about Jag. Him and Jaina broke up." Ben explained, and Iella groaned.

"Oh no, I thought they were going steady." She moaned.

"Well they had a big blow up about his honour and her not appreciating him, I think a lot of it is stress. So they broke up. But you and I both _know_ that they love each other and belong together." He wheedled, and Iella grinned.

"And you want us to talk to Jag to calm him down and see if he'll talk to Jaina?"

Ben grinned.

"Knew I could count on you aunt Iella, thanks." He said.

"You're welcome. I'll tell Wedge to have a word with our errant nephew. Stay safe."

"You too." He said, and signed off, then practically bounced from the comm room.

XX

The door to the bridge of the _Fell Defender_ opened, and Admiral Ar'alani, on her final military inspection before her retirement tomorrow, entered to see a hive of activity. Smiling, she saluted Commander Shawnkyr, the commander of the Chiss Star Destroyer.

"Commander, permission to come aboard." Ar'alani asked, and the commander saluted smartly, before walking forward and shaking the Admiral's hand.

"It is an honour to have you aboard my vessel Admiral. And who...oh." Shawnkyr said in surprise as she saw who Ar'alani had brought with her.

General Baron Soontir Fel had once been the hotshot of the Empire in the years following the death of Darth Vader. Joining the Empire of the Hand under Thrawn and Voss Parck, he had become an integrated member of Chiss society, and everyone knew of the sacrifices his family had made for the Ascendnacy, as only three of his children remained. However, when the Jedi Lowbacca had attacked Supply Depot Thrago while under the protection of his eldest remaining son, Jagged, the Ascendancy had blamed the entire family, leading them to lose everything. Since then, they had scraped by, barely surviving, eagerly awaiting the day Jag would kill Alema Rar and restore their honour. Now, he, his wife Syal, his remaining son Cem and his daughter Wynessa had been appointed to act as Ar'alani's aides, which translated as looking after an elderly Chiss of about ninety.

"Don't worry about him, if Command wants to blame anyone they can blame me." Ar'alani said, as she looked out of the viewport as the white ball that was Csilla. Twenty five _Ascendancy _class Star Destroyers surrounded the planet, as if giving it a ring, and above and below them dozens of freighters and cargo ships travelled back and forth, plying their wares. Smaller military vessels flanked the Destroyers, while large transport ships were escorted to hyperspace by Clawcraft. Nodding in satisfaction, she turned, her walking stick clicking against the spotless deck.

"You run a very tight ship Commander Shawnkyr, I am very impressed." She said, nodding in approval.

Shawnkyr tried to hide her pleasure. Ar'alani was a legend. A consummate warrior and survivor, she had battled such threats as the Yuuzhan Vong, the Vaagari and the Ssi-Ruuk over the course of her career, and had been one of Thrawn's supporters when he was still part of the CEDF. Complements from someone of her stature were rare and should be cherished.

"Thank you Admiral. Feel free to observe...I like to keep my crew on their toes. Yes Ensign?" Shawnkyr said, giving the Admiral a quick salute as she turned to deal with a query.

"Tell me Soontir, does it feel good to be back on a warship again?" Ar'alani asked as she surveyed the crew, which, she had to admit, very good.

"Yes ma'am. Thank you for allowing us to come. It makes such a nice change to get out of the slums of Csilla."

Ar'alani waved off his thanks. She had always disagreed with the Ruling Families decision. As such, she had been more than willing to hire the Fels as her aides, or retainers, her critics would say, and give them occasional benefits, such as trips like this, and access to simulators and shooting ranges for the two children to keep their skills sharp.

"Think nothing of it." She soothed, but then saw one of the crewmen flush purple, a sign of stress, and her glowing, if slightly hazy, eyes narrowed.

"Commander, we have reports of something massive coming out of hyperspace!" he called, and Shawnkyr walked briskly to his station on the command walkway and peered down at his console.

"Very well Ensign. Send an alert to all civilian vessels and have them get behind the defensive line. If someone seeks to raid us, they are in for a rude awakening. Bring cannons online, and ready the standby pilots. Something isn't right." The commander said, and she exchanged a grave look with Ar'alani and Fel.

"She's right. My gut is going haywire, and I don't think it's my age." Fel whispered.

"Are your family secure?" she asked quietly, and he nodded.

"Good. Keep them out of harm's way." She advised then slowly made her way to Shawnkyr.

"You agree something is wrong? There shouldn't be anything large enough to challenge us around here." Shawnkyr whispered, and the Admiral nodded.

"I agree. Be careful Commander."

"Ensign, get the ships coming up from Csilla behind us, and tell Spaceport Command to get as many ships in the air as possible. If these are simply bold raiders, seeing all the ships in orbit will frighten them." Shawnkyr said, and the Ensign did as instructed, though Ar'alani didn't approve.

Civilians didn't belong up here if this was to turn into a military engagement. Especially when there were at least three large passenger transports, each carrying one and a half thousand Chiss. But, as the _Fell Defender_ was Shawnkyr's command, she remained silent.

"Here it comes ma'am! It's a Yuuzhan Vong worldship!" the sensor officer yelled in disbelief.

Shawnkyr, Ar'alani and Fel all looked out of the viewport in time to see the massive vessel drop from hyperspace.

"They're launching thousands of coralskippers...and opening fire!"

"Power to shields!" Shawnkyr yelled, but it was too late.

A plasma blast hit the bridge, resulting in a heavy shaking that dislodged one of the ceiling panels. Shawnkyr saw it fall towards Ar'alani and shoved her out of the way, but the panel hit her on the head and she fell to the deck, unconscious.

"Get a medic here now. Give me a fleet wide communication." Ar'alani ordered, taking command of the ship, and with any luck the entire fleet.

Outside the massive worldship was coming forward and the storm of coralskippers flashed in at the Clawcraft that were running to meet them.

"Ships continue to come up from the planet!" an officer yelled.

"Tell the spaceports to close them down! Get those civilian ships behind us, and prepare for battle. All Star Destroyers, prepare for a asterisk formation. This ship will take point. I trust there is no question of my command of the fleet?" Ar'alani barked, and the captain shook his head.

"No ma'am. You're the highest ranking Chiss here." He said, and she nodded grimly.

What was an inspection a few minutes before was now a battle. Seven Destroyers were smoking hulks, their shields not having come up in time. Others were angling to prepare for the manoeuvre she had ordered.

"Launch all fighters, and let us remind the Vong that the Chiss do not suffer attacks like this lightly." She said confidently.

"Admiral, a Vong destroyer, a miid ro'ik, is moving out from behind the worldship. And we are getting very strange readings from both of them." An officer said nervously.

Ar'alani then watched in horrified disbelief as waves of plasma, a bright vivid orange, shot from the worldship.

"Take evasive action! Avoid those shots at all costs!"

The fleet immediately did as instructed and began to adjust. However, much of the fleet did not move quickly enough. The power of this new plasma weapon was revealed when a blast hit a Star Destroyer. Fire erupted from every viewport, and Ar'alani knew what she was dealing with.

"Those weapons are thermonuclear. Do not allow any through, or Csilla will be annihilated." She ordered darkly, then she lowered herself slightly to talk to the comm officer.

"Tell the spaceports to rescind my previous command. Get every civilian ship up in the air and full to the brim as you can." She ordered, and the young ensign looked at her in fear, but did as instructed.

The worldship then lanced forward, the massive behemoth of a vessel firing all its weapons. The Destroyers and their smaller escort craft began to adjust, but Ar'alani knew what this attack was meant to achieve. The two Vong cruisers fired dozens of thermonukes, and they hurtled at the Chiss fleet. The coralskippers were flattening the Clawcraft, and then, the capital ships started to die. Nukes slammed into Star Destroyers up and down the defensive line.

"By the Force..." Ar'alani mumbled as she watched six Star Destroyers die a fiery death.

"Admiral, the fleet is requesting instructions! We have lost thirteen Destroyers all ready, and two more are abandoning ship! The skips are chipping away at them and those weapons are flattening the fleet."

"Get the civilian ships to shotgun around the planet. Have the fleet form up on us and form a rear guard movement to enable the civilian ships to escape." Ar'alani ordered.

"But Admiral..."

"Look." Fel said in horror.

A thermonuke from the destroyer flashed past the viewport. Ar'alani turned to see the holo of the planet, and then saw a mushroom cloud expanding. The ice on the planet then turned into water as massive tidal waves of superheated water crashed over the planet. More nukes hit, and dozens, then hundreds, and then thousands of tidal waves ripped across the planet, utterly flattening the Chiss capital. All their history, all their culture, all their society...it was all flattened as the waves travelled. The last few straggling civilian ships, filled to the brim with as many people as could fit on board, managed to space.

"People, we have lost Csilla. Ar'alani to fleet. Prepare to retreat. Recall all fighters." She said, refusing to allow tears to show on her face.

When her stunned crew, who had just watched their home by wiped out, did not respond, she clanged her stick.

"Follow my orders. There will be a time to grieve later. For now, our primary concern is _survival_. To accomplish that goal, first we must survive. Full retreat, get all fighters in the holds and prepare to retreat. Any fighters that do not have a flagship anymore, tell them to slave their hyperdrives to ours and prepare for the jump to lightspeed. Tell the civilian ships to get underway and begin to clear the planet." She ordered in a determined voice.

Outside, space was chaos. Csilla, a gleaming white marble before, was now a tumultuous marble of deep blue. Ar'alani knew no one down there had survived. Meanwhile, flaming hulks of Star Destroyers started dropping listlessly towards the planet. Of the twenty five Destroyers they had had, now only eight remained. Coralskippers, the worldship and the destroyer were bearing down on them, firing at any ship that got in their way. Grutchins, though different colours from usual, were released and the vicious bugs landed and began to nibble hypercomm arrays.

"Electrify all hulls." Ar'alani ordered.

A defence mechanism against the blasted things, this allowed them to electrocute the damned bugs and stop them in their tracks. However, usually they weren't under a radioactive barrage while this happened.

The civilian flotilla was moving forward slowly and the Destroyers and support craft were fighting valiantly, but the nukes were just too many. Another two Destroyers were hit by the nukes, and coralskippers began to concentrate on the smaller military ships, chewing them up under continued fire. Ar'alani was watching the screen grimly as the Destroyers completed their slingshot around the planet. The civilians would soon be able to jump to hyperspace.

"The Vong Destroyers is here, and the worldship is overcoming the ecliptic!"

"We can't win. This ambush was well planned. It was designed to smash our fleet and our capital, and it has done both." Fel said sadly.

Ar'alani shook her head in disbelief. The last of the smaller escort vessels were destroyed by the swarming coralskippers, leaving only the remaining Destroyers. The _Dark Emissary_ and the _Baanu Venxis _fired at them recklessly, some of their weapons now hitting civilian ships.

"All Star Destroyers are to form a shield between the Vong and the civilian ships! Get those ships to lightspeed now!" Ar'alani barked.

"They're requesting orders on where to go Admiral!"

"Signal the closest Star Destroyer to us and tell them to break from the wall and have the civilians slave themselves to their signal, then get them out of here."

Another Destroyer died, the one she had just signalled.

"Admiral, this is General Yogor! With all due respect, we cannot perform this task. You may be the highest ranking member of the Ascendancy left. We need you to survive. All remaining destroyers, form up on my ship." He barked, and they did so.

"This is mutiny General." She scolded, but all he did was salute and his signal died.

With a horrible feeling in her heart, knowing that it was kinsmen, other soldiers that she was leaving behind, she gave the order.

The _Fell Defender_ entered the centre of the civilian flotilla, which had over two thousand vessels in it, and received the word that all of them had slaved their navigation to theirs.

"Jump to lightspeed." She ordered sadly, and the entire fleet leapt into lighspeed.

And only then did Ar'alani allow her tears to fall with the rest of the crew and all that remained of Csilla's population.

XX

Vongerella smiled. Her forces had reported total success. All long range communications had been wiped out, and the Ascendancy was smashed. She looked at Csilla, one an ice cube, now a boiling ocean. Her new plasma missiles had done the trick, as had her modified grutchins. The Chiss fleet was mostly a fleet of hulks and the worldship quickly finished the forces that had sacrificed themselves to allow the flagship and the civilians to escape.

Smiling, she turned to her commander.

"Signal my forces and congratulate them. They are to proceed with their plans for now, and then we will track down the rest of the Chiss. And once you've done that..."

Her captain looked at her curiously.

"Find me the Miskara of the Vaagari, and tell him I have a proposition for him." She said, smiling evilly.

**Well that was a busy chapter!**

**Alema has been captured, the Ascendancy smashed, Abeloth's attackers destroyed, the slavery question brought to bear, Jaina and Jag have broken up, and more Jedi have gone insane.**

**Also, a lot of information this chapter too. Beware of the fellow Ackmena mentioned, Nazarn. He is introduced next chapter and is a nasty piece of work. Where does he fit into all of this?**

**So, next chapter we have a two battles, we see some old friends, plus a return of a rather famous group of people, old foes unite, the slavery and piracy questions accelerate in pace, face from the past is found and we see the return of Kyle Katarn!**

**What will happen next? Time will tell. Until then, please read and review!**


	10. Episode II: Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

The bridge of the Mon Calamari cruiser _Aqua Blue_ was silent as the ship sailed along at sublight speeds. Looking wistfully out of the viewport at the swirls of the stars, Wedge Antilles suppressed a sigh. After his task force had confirmed the destruction of Tavira's _Invidious_ he had hoped to be recalled to Coruscant so he could see his wife Iella, and his two daughters, Syal and Myri, Myri before she disappeared with her aunt Mirax on a business trip and Syal before she was next deployed.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Admiral Niathal was determined to destroy as many pirate groups as she possibly could, hence the creation of the task force Wedge now led. The other four ships flanking his own was just one quarter of the overall group dedicated to crushing as many pirate groups as possible. Three of his closest friends were in charge of the other task forces, all much the same size and strength as his own.

Along with his own Mon Cal cruiser, his portion of the task force also contained the three brand new Assault Frigates not long out of the Rendilli shipyards, the _Dodonna_, _Madine_ and the _Chewbacca_. The last of the ships in his task force was a small Corellian Corvette, able to hold four fighters to add to the three squadrons his own cruiser had.

The second group was led by Tycho Celchu, Wedge's best friend in the entire galaxy. Wedge had stood by Tycho when he had been accused by the New Republic of being one of Ysanne Isard's _Lusankya_ prisoners, and had been best man at his marriage to Winter following the Almanian Uprising. Despite his wife's wishes, he had been lured back into active military duty and now commanded group two, led by the refitted SoroSuub Liberator class cruiser, the _Bold Warrior._ Also in his taskforce was the Assault Frigate, the _Amidala_, named for the mother of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. In his group he also had the Nebulon frigate, the _Shimmerstar_, the Corvette, also converted to carry some fighters, called the _Dantooine_ and the CC7700 frigate, _Remember Mindor_.

The third group was led by the practical joker of Rogue Squadron, Wes Janson, who Wedge had known for years and had steadily exasperated him with his frequent 'yub yub commander' jokes during the hunt for Warlord Zsinj. He was commanding from the bridge of Leia's former flagship, the _Rebel Dream_ and with him he had the last of the new Assault Frigates, the _Ikrit_. His group also had the fleet's other Nebulon, the _Warden_, along with a DP20 Frigate, the _Chivalrous_ and an old Medium Transport that carried fuel and ammunition for the fleet, the _Shining Liberty_.

And finally the last group was led by Hobbie Klivian, a dour faced man who was becoming more machine than man due to several rough landings in his X-Wing. Commanding the task force of three Assault Frigate Mark Twos, leading from the _Thunderflame_ and backed up by the _Theed's Reach_ and the _Storm Wind_, his was also supported by another DP20, the _Manymaster_ and rounded off by one of General Garm Bel Iblis' six Dreadnaughts, the _Sparrowhawk_.

So here Wedge was, asked to come out of retirement to 'tend the garden' as Niathal had put it, in her quest to defeat the various pirate groups which were getting too big for their boots. She also wished to determine where several missing Corporate Sector ships had vanished to, as most of the captured pirates they had were stumped. Unfortunately, after many pirate nests, which Wedge had a dislike for since Loka Hask had killed his parents, had been destroyed, they were becoming harder to find, and were about as common as an icicle on Tatooine since the destruction of the Invids. Realising they were having trouble, Wedge had put a request into Director Belindi Kalenda of Intelligence, and thus Wedge had the assistance of Wraith Squadron, resuming the roles they had had during the Zsinj Campaign as pirates, named the Hawk-Bats.

And now all he was waiting for was for the second squadron he had created to get integrated into a pirate group's confidence so they could perhaps find out what they were planning. Until then all he could do was hope to get lucky and keep the task forces going through drills.

He turned to the galaxy holomap to see where potential trouble spots where. That's what he liked about the new cruiser designs, such things could be integrated. Worlds with a red outline indicated a potential troublespot, and Wedge smiled as he saw the newsreel at the bottom, describing where anti-slavery situations were arising.

He frowned at the planet Orvax. From a small coded message he had received from Gavin Darklighter, another one of his close friends from Rogue Squadron, and someone Wedge had always looked out for, particularly recently since he had lost his wife and three of his kids. The message indicated that his eldest daughter, Syal, who had followed in her father's footsteps, had been placed upon Gavin's temporary flagship, the _Alderaan's Memory_ and was headed to Orvax to prevent the slave government, which had recently seized control of the world from the T'Surr who owned it, from being exterminated in a retaliatory strike by the T'Surr. Wedge also noticed that there was a task force not far from Orvax, performing war games at the Shimia system.

Wedge grinned. Chief A'kla and Admiral Niathal were clearly pulling the old Nal Hutta trick, which Leia had used when she was President of the New Republic during the Darksaber crisis.

"General Antilles!" a voice cried, and he turned to one of the crew stations on a raised platform behind him.

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"Sir, we've received a relayed message from the _Ession Strike_!"

The _Ession Strike_, formerly known as the _Night Caller_ had been the Wraith's flagship and their first successful mission during the Zsinj campaign. At Garik 'Face' Loran's request, Commander Tabanne had been enlisted to act as the Hawk-Bats flagship for their mission and she had happily agreed, so the ship that carried the four TIE Advanced X1s on loan from Grand Admiral Pellaeon could be seen as an appropriate flagship for a band of brigands.

"Display it please Lieutenant." Wedge ordered, and the face of Atril Tabanne came into view, showing the grey that was now running through her hair and the wrinkles which were appearing quickly on her face.

"Hello General Antilles. Our mutual friends inform me that they have been invited to a pirate gathering. However, the pirates are also trying to outwit us and use a diversion by launching a fairly large fleet while the leaders all travel to an undisclosed location for the conference. Up to you how to proceed. Clear skies General." She said, and the holo vanished.

Wedge pondered. If they waited for the actual location of the conference, it could put the Wraiths in mortal danger if the pirates figured out that they were the ones who had sold them out. And even if the task force took out the leaders, the rest of the pirates would simply scatter and continue to exasperate the Galactic Alliance.

But, if they took on the fleet, while the Wraiths might be able to keep their cover, it would mean that the pirates could unite and pose a greater threat to the Alliance.

Wedge tapped his chin.

"Relay that message to the other generals, and see if you can get us a link to Admiral Niathal." He ordered, and the Lieutenant nodded.

Wedge gazed off into the depths of space. He actually had a funny feeling he knew what Admiral Niathal's orders would be. She wanted to make an example of the pirates, and that involved crushing a large group of them at one time, otherwise the various sects would just disappear and trouble them later on. But, if they were all united and they could crush them after that fact, then it would send a very clear message to other pirate groups.

A holo of Tycho appeared before him, smiling.

"Well, you were right to call in the Wraiths. What are our new orders?" he asked.

"None yet, I'm waiting for Admiral Niathal to answer." He said, as Hobbie and Wes appeared in holo form.

No sooner had they done so than Niathal's form materialised before them.

"Ah, Generals. Excellent work so far. I see the Wraiths have managed to get a result." She said proudly.

"You wanted them to discuss unifying?" Wedge asked sceptically.

Tycho's eyes widened in comprehension.

"Of course. Hitting single targets you send a message, but not a powerful one. But if they unify and we crush them, then the message is even clearer and louder."

"Exactly." Niathal said proudly.

While the plan did make sense, a small sense of foreboding rustled through Wedge. Such planning was the kind of thing that Darth Vader had done at the start of the Rebellion, when he had managed to lure the three main leaders together so they could at last be captured.

"Well what are our orders? Do we attack the decoy fleet and let them unify, or do we attack the conference and hope for the best?" Janson asked.

Niathal pouted her lips in thought, then nodded to herself.

"Very well. Allow the Wraiths to make the conference. Take on the decoy fleet. Then I have an excuse to recall you to further the deception. Good luck gentlemen." She said, giving a salute as her holo winked out.

"Since when did we become the master manipulators?" Hobbie asked sourly.

"Since we won the war and the right to do it. Alright boys, let's get under way." Wedge said with a sigh, and their holos flashed out, and Wedge turned to the crewman.

"Alright, take us to the decoy fleet's location...and prepare for battle."

XX

The bridge of the _Fell Defender _was quiet. Since the attack, there hadn't been much to say. And now, two days later, with a flotilla of around seventy five ships, some of them crammed with over two and a half thousand people, the stress they were under was beginning to show. There were just under fifty thousand people in the flotilla, all defended by the _Fell Defender_ and her three Clawcraft Squadrons, and the eight other squadrons dotted around the fleet, just under half of which had a base ship to launch their ships from, which was cutting into already precious and tight space.

They had had no contact on any military or even Ascendancy frequency. They had watched Csilla turned into a turbulent ocean right before their very eyes. And they had watched as the mighty defence fleet of Csilla had been reduced to burnt out hulks by a surprise Vong attack.

After making their escape, Ar'alani had ordered all the small ships, shuttle size and below to either be stripped down or appropriated for military use, with their inhabitants moving onto the already overstocked freighters, transports, liners, yachts, haulers, barges and supply ships. While that kept the civilians busy, Shawnkyr had come straight to Ar'alani, and claiming that she would be much better off in a cockpit, conceded command of the Star Destroyer to Ar'alani while she took command of the ship's three fighter squadrons. Ar'alani was now the admiral in charge of the entire fleet, with the _Fell Defender_ as her flagship.

She had also reinstated Soontir Fel to the rank of general to act as an advisor. Syal, his wife, had volunteered to help with the civilians and their needs and was always travelling from ship to ship. Cem Fel, the Fels shadow child, she had reinstated to the rank of captain and had given him command of the four troop regiments on board the Destroyer. And Fel's daughter, Wynssa, had also been reinstated and placed in command of the reconnaissance craft that they had on board.

For the first day, the fleet had just hung there, stunned by what they had witnessed, an event that as far as they knew had been repeated everywhere. Ar'alani however had had other ideas. Addressing the entire fleet, she had said that they would eventually go to the Redoubt, the Chiss' last refuge. However, first she wished to find out if there were any other military or civilian vessels out there, trapped, alone and cut off from any and all support, bring them into the fleet she now commanded and make their way to the Redoubt after that. When none of the civilian vessels had disagreed, she accepted that as their course of action.

Ar'alani herself had private misgivings. After all, she and her Destroyer could be the most powerful warship left in the Ascendancy. With the brutality of the Vong attack, that wasn't exactly an impossible situation. And now, here she was, an old woman not far off from being past her centennial year, leading a fleet of civilians to the safety of the Redoubt, while trying to figure out what the devil had happened and what they should do now.

She knew it was risky, what she planned to do. As far as they knew, they might not even be able to find any other survivors of the attack, let alone a member of the high command or a member of the Five Families. But she had to try. She had promised herself that if they went a week without finding hide nor hair of anyone, they would then depart for the Redoubt.

However, that depended on the search getting started first.

"Time left?" she asked her ensign.

The last thirty six hours had taken a toll on all of them. Every twenty minutes, a Vong Kor Chokk cruiser, which was more than capable of taking out the destroyer and shredding apart the civilian fleet, would drop out of lightspeed and open fire with its plasma ejectors, sending hundreds of coralskippers flying in at them. The vanguard of Viper Squadron, the crack squadron of the ship would hold them off while the civilian ships would leap to another uncharted part of space. The fighters would then be recovered, and the Star Destroyer would follow. And then of course, twenty minutes later, the Vong would reappear, and the cycle would resume. And so it had been for the last one hundred and eight times, and it was about to go to the hundredth and ninth time.

Ar'alani knew they were tracking them somehow, but how they were doing such a thing she was quite clueless.

"Two minutes, thirty five seconds." The ensign reported, and she sighed.

"How are they doing this?" she asked as she hobbled over to the holoscreen where Fel and the captain of the ship, Wreth, were standing.

"We don't know. We've thought of everything. Unless they're tracking the damage from the long range transmitter." Wreth theorised.

The new grutchins had certainly chewed the thing up good, and no ship in the fleet had the capability to manage long range communications. Also, the fact that the Vong now controlled most of the major spaceroutes meant that it was also impossible to send anyone for help from the Empire or the Alliance. They were on their own, with no way to contact anyone outside of their fleet.

"The damage isn't giving off enough of a signal to be tracked." Fel disagreed, looking tired.

Ar'alani squinted at the holomap. The cataracts in her eyes were driving her nuts, but she refused to show weakness in front of the bridge crew, who all now looked to her as a beacon of strength and hope in these dark times. However, how long they would when it took her a good five minutes to get to the bridge on a bad day, and half that time on a good day, she wasn't sure.

"Well they're tracking us somehow. Yeoman, contact Commander Shawnkyr and have her warm up her ships." She barked, and the lad in the crewpit nodded.

"They're exhausted." Fel concluded grimly.

"We all are. But until we figure out how the hell they're tracking us, we can't do anything." Ar'alani lamented.

"Enemy cruiser coming out of hyperspace! They're back Admiral!" Ensign Doshi called from his crewpit.

"Signal the civilian fleet to get underway to the new rendezvous point, open up with suppressing fire and get Viper Flight One to keep the skips off us until we can make the jump to lightspeed!" she barked, turning with a vigour that surprised even herself. Wonderful what such a situation would do for an old body.

The enemy cruiser opened fire, but the Star Destroyer was already manoeuvring. The first of the civilian ships, the _Twilight Suns_, a passenger liner that had toured the Ascendancy before the attack and now crammed with roughly one thousand nine hundred people, jumped away, followed closely by its sister ship, the _Setting Moons_, taking with them two of the fighter squadrons that were getting some rest. Other civilian ships began flashing away as turbolaser blasts flashed out from the Destroyer and several skips went up in flames and the four Clawcraft in Flight One started vaping some of the enemy craft.

"Thirteen, nine, six, four..." Doshi counted, counting down the number of ships that were left still to jump.

Ar'alani looked stonily out of the viewport as the Vong cruiser fired a thermonuke at them. They didn't have much time.

"Admiral, the _Astral Empress_ is away!" Doshi called, and she nodded.

The _Astral Empress_ was always the last ship to jump as it was a refinery ship, filled with valuable fuel and weapons for the remaining fighting forces. As such, it would always have a defence of some kind.

"Excellent. Get us out of here!" she yelled, and the Star Destroyer shot to lightspeed, flanked by Flight One, a few seconds later, just missing the nuke by an exhaust trail.

XX

As soon as they were out of lightspeed, the clock began again. Ar'alani met with Fel, Wreth and Shawnkyr, who was incredibly tired, barely able to open her eyes beyond slits, to discuss how they were being tracked.

"Maybe we have a Vong in an ooglith masque, giving away our transmissions." She suggested half heartedly.

"Doubtful. The Vong aren't necessarily known for their 'everyone comes home' policy." Fel commented.

He was right. Even if they did have an agent in the fleet, giving away their location would be signing their own death sentence.

"Maybe they're just getting ridiculously lucky." She suggested next, but Wreth, an old school captain, shook his head.

"No one, not even a Jedi, is that lucky." He disagreed.

Ar'alani pondered. Yes, a Jedi would be handy right now. So would the entire Alliance now she came to think of it.

"No. I cant help but feel its something simple that we're not seeing." Ar'alani growled irritably as she sipped her tea.

For two of their precious remaining twelve minutes, they sat in silence before the door chime went.

"Enter!" Ar'alani called.

Shawnkyr had also given up use of the commander's quarters, giving Ar'alani access to the room while she moved to the flight commanders quarters several decks down. As such, everything Ar'alani had taken with her on her trip, which she had intended to leave from and head to her new home on Sarvchi, was packed in here, books, clothes, medication and a few other small comforts, such as her foot spa. Praise the Force for small miracles.

Doshi then entered, looking very nervous in front of so many of his superiors.

"May I interrupt Admiral?" he asked uncertainly.

Ar'alani waved her hand, inviting the young lad to talk.

"What is it Ensign? Come on, we need to have a think about how the devil the enemy keep tracking us." Wreth scolded when he was quiet a bit too long.

"Well, that's what it's about sir. I think I know how the Vong have been tracking us." He said nervously, and Ar'alani sat up a little straighter.

"You do? Enlighten us please." She said. She knew he was probably just guessing but if he truly did, so much the better.

"The grutchins." He concluded, and disappointment flared in her heart, and wondered whether she should punish him for wasting her time.

"The grutchins are gone Ensign." Wreth grumbled, looking as disappointed as she felt.

"Yes sir, and I think that's the problem. I think when we zapped them, they released some sort of chemical that the Vong have been tracking. After all, even all the civilian ships zapped a grutchin or two, so they have any number of ways to do it." He explained, and Ar'alani looked at the others.

The boy might be on to something.

"If there are radioactive markers on the ships..." Fel began.

"Any damn fool could track us even with their eyes closed!" Wreth finished indignantly.

"Good suggestion Ensign Doshi. Well done." Ar'alani said, giving him one of her rare smiles.

"Well how would we investigate it?" Shawnkyr asked, wondering which one of her pilots she would have to send out to check all the hulls in the fleet.

Doshi raised a hand, looking worried, and Ar'alani beckoned him to talk.

"Well if I may Admiral, I called in a favour to one of the hull beaters below decks, and he sent someone out to check to see if there's a radioactive marker floating around."

Ar'alani looked at him in surprise. Normally, that could very well get him into trouble. But she decided she would wait and see what the hull beater found before chewing Doshi out.

And sure enough, a minute later, the hull beater reported in.

"Admiral, the places where we zapped the grutchins are covered in a sticky sort of bloody goo. I've tested it, and its just as radioactive as some of the components they used to melt Csilla. This is how they've been tracking us mam." He reported, and she nodded.

"Thank you Chief Gyren. Return to your post. Good work." She said into the comm and gave Doshi another smile as she rose to her feet.

"Ensign Doshi, you just saved this fleet with your theory. That is how the Vong have been tracking us. As a result, I now promote you to the rank of Lieutenant." She said, and saluted him.

Doshi looked surprised, but quickly saluted as the group headed towards the bridge.

"So how do we get rid of it? Drop into Csilla's atmosphere and hope the rain they've created will wash it off?" Wreth asked wryly.

"If I may sir, I thought we could use one of the nebulas. We hide there, the radiation will mix in with whatever else there is and it will be redundant." Doshi said, and Ar'alani smiled.

"Excellent suggestion Lieutenant," she said as she entered the bridge, "prepare the fleet for a hyperspace jump to the Utegetu nebula!" she barked.

A few minutes later, the fleet jumped to the safety of the nebula, leaving the Vong cruiser far behind.

XX

Ten hours later, the radiation had been changed so much by that in the nebula as to become harmless. As such, one by one, each civilian ship would leave the nebula and some very brave volunteers would clean off the mark just in case, and the resultant radiation from the nebula would come off in hyperspace. It was long, slow work, but two days later it was done, and there hadn't been any Vong attacks. The fleet was rested, and were now over the initial shock of Csilla's destruction.

And now Ar'alani had a choice to make. Did she take the fleet to the Redoubt, or go through with her original plan?

Her question was answered for her.

"Admiral, we're picking up a signal!" Doshi called, and she rolled her eyes.

Their rest was over apparently.

"Get everyone ready to jump to lightspeed." She ordered calmly.

"No Admiral, the signal is an Ascendancy code!" Doshi said.

Ar'alani looked at him in shock, then looked out of the viewport. And, from behind a stellar cloud, came a group of seven ships, six of them civilian. But it was the ship in the centre that made the smile on her face grow.

A concave shape, with two long rods connecting the convex to a command tower, it was an _Isolator_ class carrier, capable of carrying six fighter squadrons of fighters, and relatively well armed for a ship of its size.

And as the comm crackled, she closed her eyes in relief.

"This is the _Olympian_ and its civilian fleet, hailing the Star Destroyer _Fell Defender_. Permission to join the fleet Commander?" the captain asked over the comm.

Ar'alani ambled down into the crew pit and bent over Doshi's station.

"This is Admiral Ar'alani. Welcome back to the Ascendancy Fleet _Olympian_." She said with a large smile, and as she did so, cheering erupted from both the comm and from the crew.

XX

The _Supremacy_ class Battle Cruiser, the mighty flagship of the Chiss fleet, gave one final firing of its guns before the thermonuke blasted through its bridge viewport, and with the stern of the ship aflame, the ship plummeted into Csilla's atmosphere, headed for the choppy waters that Vongerella's fleet had created.

She smiled as she watched the _Ascendant Rising_ plummet downwards and felt triumph roar through her body. The entire Chiss Ascendancy had been caught totally off guard by her forces' attack. Destroying Csilla had been a master stroke, as it had enabled them to take out the Five Families, the Cabinet and the Senate in one swift strike. Also on the list of destroyed worlds where places that had something to do with the military, military training centres and bases being a prime target. She also had ships surrounding the major shipyards at Bretus Ortai, and other words, colony worlds such as Chaf had been invaded and the populace rounded up into camps.

All in all it was a very successful attack. The Supreme Commander of the Chiss Fleet had rallied the remainder of the Chiss fleet to him at Klasse Ephemora and had then brought the thirty odd Star Destroyers he had assembled, complete with the entire backing of numerous support ships and hundreds of fighter squadrons, here to Csilla.

Where Vongerella's fleet had closed the last of the trap. Allowing them to approach the worldship, coralskippers loaded with the same weapons they had used to destroy Csilla had then flew out from the burnt out hulks of the ruined Csilla fleet and had slammed into the Star Destroyers left, right and centre, destroying the vast majority of the enemy firepower. Her fleet had then opened up on the rest of the fleet, with the worldship and her own flagship battling their mightiest cruiser, and now, that too had fallen and the last of the Chiss military backbone had been defeated.

But now that the Chiss had gotten over the initial surprise of the attack, they could present a greater threat. Their Supreme Commander hadn't waited for reinforcements from the Redoubt, where she knew there was a fleet that could far outnumber her own. Military survivors from the attack, along with fleeing civilian refugees would now head there and hole up until they were ready to strike at her. And while she had taken out their long range communications, she didn't have an effective way to police the spaceways if anyone decided to actually run to the Empire or Alliance for help, which she wasn't ready for them to do yet, not by a long shot.

There was also the fact that while her forces were well trained, there weren't enough troops to police all the worlds she had landed troops on, no matter how small the populations of some of the colonies were.

But turning to the viewport, she saw the way to get around that problem, and effectively police the spacelanes, along with keeping the Chiss occupied while she made her next move.

Outside was the Vagaari fleet. Hundreds of ships, at least half of which were their squashed insect looking Star Destroyers, which were flanked by their claw like frigates and their stream of bubble like Interdictors, it was the entire Vagaari race that had responded to the summons she had sent out.

But in the centre of the fleet was their gargantuan flagship, which for all intents and purposes was also their homeworld. A central spire, it was reminiscent of a Hapan Battle Dragon, but rather than circles mounting the central column they were lethal, five pointed stars at each end, each bristling with hangars and weapons. While not the same size as the Death Star, it was just as large as the worldship, if not slightly taller in its size. Vongerella could feel the hundreds of thousands of Vagaari on the ship, skulking through the Force, the women and children in the centre of the main column and the vicious military soldiers in the outskirts and at the top, where she could feel the Miskara ruled from.

"Domina, the Vagaari homeship is hailing us."

Vongerella turned to the comm station Lumiya had given her, and the whitish face, with two fleshy folds wrapped around a split skull, and small beads of metal sticking from his head, appeared, the face of the Miskara.

"Greetings to the Miskara of the Vagaari. I am Vongerella of the True Yuuzhan Vong." She said, inclining her head respectfully.

The Miskara surveyed her, then titled his head in a gesture of respect.

"And greetings to you Vongerella. What you and your forces have accomplished is beyond words. While the Chiss military still exists, you have broken the spine of the Ascendancy. You are to be congratulated." He said in a gravelly voice and she smiled slightly.

"Thank you Miskara. I asked you here to propose a pairing." She said, cutting right to it.

The Miskara growled, his proud eyes glaring at her.

"The Vagaari work with none." He hissed contemptuously.

Vongerella suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"I think it might be in your best interests to break that little rule just this once. The Ascendancy has never been so weak. The political infrastructure has been all but shattered, their military bases and capital have been bombed out of existence, their economy will soon collapse as a result, much of their people are in camps and their military has been caught with their trousers down and only need to be picked off. My forces have done what yours could not do in several millennia." She sneered, and his eyes widened in anger.

"Have a care woman, or have you not noticed that I could obliterate your fleet is the mood so struck me?" he growled, and Vongerella longed to fire some poison at him from her fake eye.

"Please Miskara. Let us be frank. This is a golden opportunity. The Chiss have never been so weak. If we act now, we can destroy the Chiss Ascendancy once and for all. All I would require from you is a little assistance. Imagine, the Vong and the Vagaari, two natural allies, working together so we can control the future." She purred, and she could see she had his interest.

"What would you require of the Vagaari?" he asked curiously.

"My forces are too small. That is my main problem. What I would need is assistance in policing the worlds that I have conquered. Already, some of them are making a nuisance of themselves. With your forces there, things would be a lot easier. You can also help me down the disparate parts of the Chiss fleet and drive them to destruction. In return, you see your age old enemies defeated at last, and have full access to the Redoubt and any Ascendancy worlds you choose." She said.

The Miskara shook his head.

"Not good enough. We also want their military technology, just in case the venture fails. We want to be able to catch them unawares as you did. Ships, designs, all belong to us. Along with taking half the Ascendancy for our own, taking their wealth. Do we have an agreement?"

Vongerella had to suppress a smile. He could have the entire Ascendancy if he wanted. The only reason she needed him was to keep the Chiss under control while she continued with her plan. And when the plan came to fruition, they could do what they want with the Ascendancy. She had bigger, far more reaching plans. And as for taking the Chiss wealth and military technology, what use did she have for that? They were welcome to it.

"Very well Miskara. We have a deal." She said, her fake eye widening.

"I look forward to our profitable relationship. Send over someone and we shall coordinate our forces." He said, and the holo flickered out.

Vongerella smiled. Soon now, her vision for a galaxy ruled by the Sith and the Vong would come to fruition. While the Miskara and his legions worked with the majority of her fleet and kept the Chiss bottled up here where they belonged, she had another job to do.

"Go over and liaise with the Vagaari captain. Deal with them any way you wish but make sure they do what I need them to do. Keep the Chiss here and keep them from communicating with the rest of the galaxy." She ordered, and he bowed deeply, departing the bridge for a yorik-trema.

She then turned to her flight controllers.

"Prepare the ship, and set your course for the Lwhekk star system. We have another alliance to forge." She said, and the _Dark Emissary_ split away from the rest of her fleet and the masses of Vagaari ships, and leapt to lightspeed.

XX

Malastare's atmosphere was that of a carnival. People of all shapes and sizes were out in the streets and celebrating the decision. With the decision of the Ryloth Ruling Council to abolish slavery, the highly politically contentious matter that had been plaguing the Malastare election campaign for weeks was the situation of the Dugs, who the Grans, an immigrated species, had subjugated upon their arrival on the world millennia ago. However, with the President campaigning for re-election, he had brought up this contentious issue in his final days in office, and it seemed to have captured the imagination of the people so much so that if the President won it, he would nearly certainly get re-elected.

And now, the issue had been resolved, with the people voting in favour of abolishing the Gran ownership of the Dugs. The Dugs had achieved their liberation, and with that the slavery problem was burst wide open. Ryloth had sparked a fire, leading to a flash point at Orvax which now threatened to turn the entire issue into a massive full fledged campaign across the galaxy. And now, Malastare was also free of the taint of slavery, giving even more fuel into the anti-slavery fire that was beginning to burn across the galaxy.

Madhi watched as the Dugs swung freely from buildings and celebrated with songs, fireworks and dancing breaking out everywhere. While there were some Gran who looked dispirited about the freeing of their best source of comfort (as it was up to Dug slaves to keep the home running while they worked), most of the others looked happy to see the long enslaved Dugs granted their freedom. The entire world was in an uproar, and the President was receiving accolades from across the galaxy, including from Chief Ak'la, who congratulated him on his bravery at openly confronting this issue.

"This is Madhi Vaandt for the _Perre Needmo Newshour_. The scenes you are seeing are the result of a population freed. As part of a highly contested campaign for the Presidency, the current President, Klos Teem, brought the question of Dug slavery to the forefront even before the momentous decision was reached on Ryloth to free the slaves. Now, as a result of that, the Dugs have now been granted their freedom from the Gran Protectorate. While part of an overall political scheme, the President has stated that it is his personal belief that the Dugs should have been freed long before now. Ladies and gentlemen, this could very well be the beginning of the end for slavery. People are finally beginning to stand up and admit it is wrong, and more and more enslaved and enslaving species are responding to this call. The freeing of the slaves on Ryloth was just the first step everyone. Now, slavery is being contended with across the entire galaxy, and people are coming together in a united front against it. Once again, these are the wonderful scenes from Malastare, where the Dugs are celebrating their liberation from the Gran Protectorate. This is Madhi Vaandt, and now back to Perre at the studio."

She smiled broadly as she ended her report. Slavery was now being contended with across the galaxy, and as a result, Ackmena was having the entire group do as much as they could to aid in the campaign. It felt good, the result of millennia of hard work of opposing slavery, and it was now finally coming to an end...provided Orvax didn't put paid to the entire thing. If Orvax fell back to the T'Surr government who had previously owned it, then the entire movement could be derailed, and very few people were expecting the slaves to hold out. However, if a miracle happened...

"What do we do now?" Shota asked curiously, and Madhi frowned. While the anti-slavery question had been blown wide open, there was the problem of Orvax, and there was no point in them going to another world if the entire movement lost momentum. But, if they went to Orvax and nothing happened, they would look like fools, not to mention potentially be in danger from that monster Nazarn.

"Get me a link to Ackmena. Perre's giving us free reign on covering the story, and besides we need to tell her the good news about Malastare. Maybe she can figure out where we should go after this." She said, pondering as the Dugs celebrated around her.

XX

A grey orb in space, Orvax was once the slavery capital of the Outer Rim aside from Tatooine. Anyone or anything you wanted could be gotten here, and despite the problems that started not long after the rise of the Empire, it had quickly become a major profit centre for the Empire. Ruled by the massive, hulking and ferocious T'Surr species, slaves going through Orvax had little hope. With the New Republic and Galactic Alliance unable to harm Orvax due to the Hutts monopolising the slave trade there following the collapse of the Empire, the poor slaves had waited decades for something to happen that could free them. With the liberation of the slaves on Ryloth, a group of slaves had banded together and had assaulted their T'Surr masters, catching them totally by surprise. Armed with the T'Surr's weapons, they had spread, taking down more of their captors by use of surprise, and the slave rebellion had spread, with more and more slaves taking up arms, and by the time the news actually broke, the slaves were breaking down the doors into the Magister's compound. Fearing for his life, despite the fact that his security forces could probably have crushed the insurrection, the Magister had fled with his support, and seeing that their boss had fled, other T'Surr had abandoned the world and the other slavers to their own devices and had fled off world.

The government on the T'Surr homeworld however had been furious, and had recalled their most vicious slaver, Nazarn, so that he could lead an assault to retake the world.

And that was the reason that the _Alderaan's Memory_, a Mediator cruiser belonging to the Alliance Fleet, was hanging in orbit. Of Mon Calamari design, the eight and a half kilometre ship was here responding to a request by the new slave government to join the Alliance. At least that was the official reason anyway. The real reason was to be on hand for when the T'Surr strike force arrived.

In the bubble like bridge that was set into the rest of the long fluid like cruiser, Admiral Gavin Darklighter stared down at Orvax wistfully. Two years ago, his wife Serra and his biological children had been killed in the worst speeder accident Coruscant had ever seen. While he had tried hard to move on with his life, with the aid of people like Wedge, Wes, Hobbie, Tycho and Corran, this time of year always brought out the worst in him, and seemed to set him back a considerable amount. No wonder Admiral Niathal had wanted him away from Coruscant, to try and take his mind off things, like the reminder of Serra and the kid's deaths. The pain of their deaths still hurt, especially now.

"Admiral Darklighter, are you alright?" a kind voice asked from behind him and he turned to see Jedi Master Tresina Lobi coming towards him.

One of the twelve members of the Jedi Council, she had come along to help negotiate Orvax's entry into the Alliance due to her close ties to the slavery question. Being a Chev she had been repressed by the Chevin for years before she had joined the Jedi, and as such was a strong advocate for freeing the galaxy from the yoke of slavery.

Little did Gavin know that she also had links with Freedom Flight. During a mission to the Outer Rim a couple of years before, she had encountered a Bothan smuggler, who was smuggling slaves away from Tatooine. When the time had come, she had aided him in his escape, and he had reported this to Ackmena, who had been more than happy to invite Tresina to join the group. Ever since then, Tresina had helped them out whenever she could, with intelligence, donations and other aspects that she could use to help to try and fix the problem of slavery. Tresina also suspected that there was at least one other Jedi who was aiding in these matters, as the group had come by information that they shouldn't have been able to get except through a Jedi, and she certainly hadn't told them, so she was curious to know who the other one was.

Gavin gave her a wan smile.

"Yes Master Lobi, I'm fine. It's just this time of year that gets to me, remembering..." he said, and she gave him an understanding smile and clapped him on the shoulder.

"You are strong Admiral. It is natural to grieve." She said sympathetically and he nodded.

Tresina looked at the man. Though smaller than her due to her Chev nature, he was still tall, having been lanky in his youth. His hair had gone back to the brown it had used to be and was now flecked with grey, and he had shaved off his beard. His face was careworn and just looked downright tired for a man just entering middle age.

"Thank you Master Lobi. How are the negotiations going?" he asked, trying to take his mind off the death of his wife and children.

Tresina pursed her lips worriedly.

"They are going well, however as of the moment they lack little to contribute to the Alliance. Most of their income came through the export of slaves, and as it is now the slaves that are in charge, hence they can't make money through that anymore. However, they are insistent on wanting to join the Alliance."

Gavin pondered this. While not quite as used to the diplomatic niceties as say Wedge or Tycho, he knew that the Senate would raise many a questioning eyebrow if they allowed Orvax to join the Alliance primarily for protection. Usually, members contributed something other than just a boost to the anti-slavery campaign, and if the T'Surr government was insistent on getting Orvax back, then they would need to keep at least three capital ships tied up here for a very long time in a sector that had very little importance other than holding one of the main economic capitals of the Hutts, Tatooine. As such, it could cause all sorts of trouble if they allowed it entry just to boost the anti-slavery campaign...and it also risked aggravating their Hutt neighbours.

"Meaning they only want to join it for protection." He reasoned and she shrugged.

"That, and to help set up their new government. They are still slaves. They need help, none of them know what they are doing, the man I've been meeting, a Klatoonian who seems to have captured the hearts of the people, he's a well meaning soul but he isn't a true leader, he doesn't know what he's doing." She explained, looking down with a pensive expression at the planet below their graceful cruiser.

"Can he learn what he's doing?" Gavin asked, stroking his chin, and she nodded.

"Yes, but that's the catch...he needs the help of the Alliance, which the Senate will be resistant to giving him due to Orvax having little worth and any anti-freedom worlds will vote against it anyway. So, it's a roundabout situation." She explained sadly.

Gavin shared her sympathies. He too felt slavery was wrong, but something such as this, which was totally upsetting the status quo was a big ask. And while it would be nice for slavery to be eradicated, most of the galaxy seemed to recognise that they needed to keep Orvax free to keep up the momentum. But if they could, well events could spiral far out of control, and do so very quickly. There were already reports of protests on Tatooine as the slaves there protested for their freedom, and they were still relatively peaceful...but no matter what happened on Orvax that wouldn't last.

"The entire thing's going mad. Malastare has given the Dugs their freedom too, so at least some good will happen regardless." Gavin said, but Tresina seemed to be miles away, her eyes closed as she saw something he couldn't.

"Orvax has become the shatterpoint for the entire thing, all is linked to this planet..." she said softly, and Gavin exchanged a look with his Gossam captain and shrugged. Who could fathom Jedi?

"Admiral, an AA-9 Freighter is leaving hyperspace." A Brubb crewman reported.

Gavin turned to the viewscreen, and shared a concerned look with Tresina.

"Why is there a freighter coming into Orvax? Most of the galaxy's slavers have heard the T'Surr have scarpered, and like you said, they don't have anything else to export." Gavin said, his eyes narrowed as the saw the prism like ship edge slowly into view.

Tresina stretched out with her feelings, getting a sense of those on board. All she felt was fear, terror and rising panic.

"Something is wrong Admiral."

Gavin frowned and nodded to his flight officer, who signalled the ready flight of fighters to get going.

XX

"All right Nemesis Squadron, let's see what this is all about." Captain Syal Antilles ordered, as her flight of four K-Wings left the sterile white colour of the hangar to enter deep space.

The daughter of Wedge Antilles and Iella Wessiri, she had risen quickly through the ranks of Starfighter Command, proving just as proficient in a cockpit as her father was. However, unlike her father, who had favoured the X-Wing all his life, she favoured the K-Wing. While heavier and bulkier than the X-Wing, it packed more of a punch and was harder to control, but Syal had quickly become a master at it, and three years later she had been given command of her own squadron, Nemesis Squadron, a squadron that moved through top spots in the fleet, and usually found itself on the _Ocean_, Admiral Niathal's flagship. Today however, her squadron had been moved to the _Alderaan's Memory_ to oversee the protection of the new slave government on Orvax.

Syal looked in concern at roughly where the bridge was. She was concerned about her uncle. Losing his wife and kids two years before had hit him hard, Niathal had probably given him this mission to keep his mind off things. Her four fighters twirled past the viewport of the cruiser, then headed towards the transport, which was getting too close to the cruiser's sphere of influence. Long and cyndrical like the _Home One _had originally been, though marked with the wings of the _Liberty_ and the tail fin of the _Mon Remonda_, it was one of the more beautiful and powerful ships in the fleet. And the transport was edging far too close to it for Syal's liking.

"This is Captain Syal Antilles of Nemesis Squadron. Transport, adjust your heading away from the flagship." She said in an authoritative voice.

Her comm crackled, and she heard a very frightened voice at the other end, which unless she missed her guess, belonged to a child.

"We can't!" the little girl wailed.

Syal's gut went cold, and she had a horrible feeling spreading through her stomach. Zueb Zan, her Sullustan gunner, made a worried noise in his throat.

"Are you a slave?" she asked cautiously, praying that what she felt was happening wasn't.

"Y-yes we all are, but they locked all us kids in here..." the little girl said, and fear gripped Syal's stomach.

"Who did? The T'Surr?" she asked sharply.

"Yes..." the little girl answered, sounding terrified.

Zueb got busy with the scanner, and he groaned.

"Syal, there's two and a half thousand people on board that ship." He reported.

"Listen, we need you to tell us exactly what happened." Syal said, and she could see shuttles leaving the cruiser to go and help out.

"I don't know, they just started rounding us all up and sticking us on the ship, they said we were going to reclaim something...the T'Surr were scary, scarier than usual..." she said, and Syal could hear the tears in her voice.

"Where are your parents?" Syal asked urgently, and the little girl sniffed.

"They locked them down in the main hold, its only the kids up here in the top level, they didn't want us playing with the controls they said..."

Syal clicked comm channels.

"Admiral Darklighter, what do we do?" she asked worriedly.

Gavin's kindly voice cut across the system wide channel.

"Don't worry, we're going to fix this. We'll fix you with a tractor beam and we have people coming over to free you as we speak." He said kindly.

"Admiral Darklighter, a Star Viper has just entered the system." Zueb reported, looking up from his scanners.

Tresina Lobi's voice then cut across the entire comm system, sounding alarmed and disgusted at the same time.

"Captain Antilles, pull up!"

Syal reacted immediately, and pulled her flight of K-Wings away from the transports, as did the shuttles. And a second later, the slave ship exploded, the fire travelling up the tractor beam ray and scorching the side of the hull of the _Memory_.

XX

The blast rocked the ship, making Gavin stagger and hang onto the display stand in order to keep his feet. Outside, his forces had survived intact, but there was now fiery wreckage where the transport had held innocent slaves only seconds before.

"I was at Sluis Van, it was that all over again." He mumbled angrily, then turned to his flight commander.

"Get our other fighters in the air now, and tell Nemesis Leader to hunt down that Star Viper now! Communications, get me Admiral Niathal!" he barked, and the entire bridge scurried to do his bidding, while Gavin looked at the damage report that had displayed on the viewscreen.

The blast had burnt the tractor beam emplacement beyond all recognition, and had also taken out one of their turbolasers, but aside from that and a little damage to the shields, the ship was generall alright. Not that that made up for the deaths of those poor defenceless slaves.

Admiral Niathal's holo shimmered to life, looking grim.

"Admiral Darklighter, status report." She said, though the look on her face suggested that she knew it wasn't good news.

"The T'Surr just sent a rigged transport to try and blow up the ship. None of our side was hurt, but we were damaged slightly, and it killed two and half thousand slaves who were on board."

Niathal closed her eyes in disgust, then nodded.

"Very well. Engage the enemy." She ordered, and shimmered out.

"It doesn't make sense though, to kill so many potentially useful slaves." Tresina said, her voice sounding choked up.

"It does if they wanted to send a message." Gavin growled, as the rest of Nemesis Squadron, along with his other three squadrons, an E-Wing, an Eta 5 and an X-Wing, shot out f the hangar, while Syal's flight chased down the Star Viper that had detonated the transport.

"Admiral Darklighter, ships approaching from hyperspace!" the sensor officer cried.

"Pull Nemesis One back, and prepare to engage anything that drops out of hyperspace." Gavin ordered and the cruiser went to battle ready status, pulling away from Orvax's gravity well to meet the incoming threat.

Dozens of ships then erupted from hyperspace, and at the centre of the formation was the aged but still incredibly lethal boxy winged form of an _Aggressor_ class Star Destroyer.

"Not seen one of them since the days before we took Coruscant..." Gavin muttered, then looked at the readouts.

The Destroyer was the _Unyielding_, the flagship of the brutal slaver Nazarn. Flanking his flagship were two old _Gladiator_ class Star Destroyers, and the rest of the fleet was made up of frigates or smaller, with around five Imperial II frigates, twice that many Victory II frigates, four old Dreadnaughts, three Nebulon B2 frigates and five Assassin Corvettes.

"Looks like the T'Surr want to take Orvax back pretty bad. Signal the task force and prepare to engage. And get me a link to their flagship." He snapped, and the crew hustled to carry out his orders.

The bridge holo shimmered to life, revealing the blue form of Nazarn. A T'Surr, he had a ferocious looking face with three glowing red eyes and a scar running down the bottom right one which had gone yellow, and incredibly sharp and dangerous looking teeth, his head dipped in the middle and he had a beard that looked as if it was adorned with human hair.

"This is Admiral Gavin Darklighter of the Galactic Alliance. You have committed an act that could be construed as an attack against this vessel and are entering prospective Alliance space. Turn back and you will not be fired upon."

Nazarn then began to laugh, a cruel guttural laugh that sent chills up Gavin and Tresina's spine.

"I take it that means you got my gift then boy?" he snarled in his growling voice.

Tresina narrowed her eyes in dislike while Gavin stuck out his chin defiantly.

"You murdered all of them. It was no gift." He sneered and the slaver smiled, displaying his fangs.

"That was a demonstration...of what will happen to those of you who want to interfere with our world. Orvax is ours...Orvax is _mine_." He snarled, his hand forming a fist.

"Not anymore it isn't, it belongs to the slaves." Tresina countered and his eyes turned on her, having the desired effect of spooking her.

"Not for much longer. Attack!" he roared, and a massive spiralling shot, made up of ion and plasma, slammed into the prow of the _Memory_, making the entire ship rock.

"All fighters, engage! How long till the rest of the taskforce arrives?"

"Ten minutes Admiral, but we can't take more than three shots from that thing without losing all of our shields!" his sensor office cried.

Gavin narrowed his eyes.

"Bring us to port and open fire, maximum firepower!"

XX

Space erupted into a warzone as soon as the _Unyielding_ fired its ion/plasma shot. As it did so, Star Vipers, Vaksai fighters and Skiprays zoomed from the hangars of Nazarn's fleet, with all of them headed right for the _Memory_'s four fighter squadrons.

"This is Bronzium Leader. Bronzium, Slasher squadrons, tackle those fighters head on. Nemesis, form up with Twirler squadron and start hitting those Skiprays with everything you have!"

Syal acknowledged as the _Memory_ turned to port and filled the space between their flagship and the slaver fleet with deadly turbolaser blasts as the slaver fleet began to close. The fighters sped towards the Alliance ships and the X-Wings and E-Wings met them, equal to the challenge and explosions erupted in the centre of space as the two fighter forces clashed. Nemesis Squadron, backed up by their Eta 5s, hurtled forward, the gunners firing at any enemy vessel that came into their sights, while their pilots lit up enemy Skiprays with missiles, while the Etas took down the Star Vipers. The majestic Mon Calamari cruiser angled itself and began firing away, with its shots chipping away at the forward shields of the attacking Nebulons and corvettes. The heavy guns of the slaver fleet were hanging back, with only the _Unyielding_ firing its spiralling shots towards the cruiser, which had to bank continually to avoid its shots. The cruiser then thrusted its engines, getting closer to the bulk of the enemy fleet, with its ion cannons slamming into one of the corvettes and taking it out of commission, while enemy turbolaser shots rippled up and down their shield sphere.

While that happened, Syal span her fighters, her lasers slashing apart two oncoming Star Vipers while Zueb blasted apart a Skipray that was on their six. Fires blossomed against their shields as a Star Viper span at them, lasers trying to punch through their fighter, buy Syal was up to the challenge, corkscrewing away from the attack and reversing her thrusters, putting her behind their attacked where she finished him with a quick blast. Rolling her shop to blast apart one of the Vaksai's she saw that the _Memory_ was in trouble, with the frigates surrounding her and firing on her from all directions. While an incredibly capable warship, it couldn't fend off all those attackers at once, not with the _Unyielding_'s main cannon diminishing their shields bit by bit while causing damage at the same time.

"Nemesis Squadron, form up on me, or we're going to have a long walk home." She said and her squadron, which she was pleased to see she hadn't lost anyone in, formed up on her and gunning the engines the group lanced towards the ships surrounding the capital ship.

XX

"Admiral, the frigates are surrounding us, and those three Destroyers are getting closer." Tresina said worriedly.

Gavin however wasn't paying attention. He had noticed that Nemesis Squadron were shooting away from the fighter engagement and were bearing down on one of the Victory frigates.

"Nemesis Leader, what are you doing?" he hissed into the comm.

His response was a barrage of missiles that slammed into the stern of the ship, making massive mushrooms of flame blossom up and down the rear of the vessel. A second later there was a secondary explosion as the engine block exploded, taking out the ships wings and engulfing the command section in flame as it started to plummet.

"Nemesis Lead, are you insane?" Gavin raged as the fighters broke off and twirled around to meet the Vaksai fighters that were following them.

"Just protecting our mother ship Admiral."Syal answered, and Gavin seethed.

While effective, and while the K-Wings were relatively good at hitting capital ships, she had taken an awful risk, and he didn't particularly fancy going to Wedge and telling him his daughter had been killed. However, he had to admit, her action was quite useful, as with a gap in the enemy ships surrounding them the _Memory_ moved towards the gap, its turbolasers blowing holes in the Nebulon and the Imperial frigate that were chewing away at the sides of their ship. Delivering a massive broadside, the Nebulon broke apart, its bridge section cleaved in two, while the Imperial frigate began to drift, much of its command section opened to space.

"Admiral, the rest of the fleet has arrived!"

Gavin smiled as the rest of the task force arrived. At the centre of the fleet was the fork shaped Liberator Cruiser, an old but powerful ship from the days of the Galactic Civil War. Flanking it were the two Mon Calamari sister ships, the _Mon Ferroa _and the _Mon Karren_. Two Nebulons made up the edge of the fleet, and along with them was the Thranta class cruiser that the Rogues had used during the Bacta War, the _Valiant_, commanded by Aril Nunb, and the Ssi-Ruuk cruiser that had been captured during the initial Bakura campaign, the _Sibwarra_. Along with that were two GR75 transports, four Corellian corvettes and four DP20 gunships.

As the reinforcements set loose their own fighter squadrons, the fighter battle became largely reduced, as many of the fighters pulled away to meet the newcomers. The corvettes and gunships boosted their engines, taking them into the centre of the fray, with the gunships beginning to aid the fighters in weeding out the numbers of Star Vipers and the corvettes engaging their Assassin counterparts.

The _Lion Heart_, the Liberator, formed up with the _Memory_, and the two of them started heading towards the centre of the enemy formation, splitting the _Unyielding_'s fire between the two vessels. The two other Mon Cals then opened up on the Gladiators, forcing the smaller ships into a fighting retreat. B-Wing and Y-Wing squadrons sped into the fray, with a barrage of missiles shattering another Nebulon B2, while the friendly ones engaged the last. The _Sibwarra_ got in close to the Imperial frigates, backed up by fighters and the _Valiant_, both of them rolling this way and that to maximise their field of fire.

As dozens of fighters started to overwhelm the T'Surr forces, the Aggressor flagship slowly began to edge back, turning away from the two oncoming cruisers, and its Gladiator escorts also pulled away from their engagements with the Mon Cal cruisers, delivering turbolaser shots as they started to edge away from the planet. Fighters suddenly started to pull off from their engagements, scurrying back to their diminished home ships as the entire fleet started to pull out.

"Admiral Darklighter, they are beginning to pull back and power up their lightspeed!"

"Excellent. We have them on the run. Where's an Interdictor when we need one?" Tresina asked, her eyebrow raised as the T'Surr ships limped away from the engagement with their numerically superior foe.

"Admiral, we're being hailed by their flagship!"

Nazarn appeared before them, his grotesque face an expression of absolute fury.

"You may have won this engagement whelp, but Orvax belongs to us. We will never give it up, and we will be back. And when we meet again boy, I will rip your head from your shoulders." He roared, and then the screen turned to static as the fleet leapt away.

Gavin smiled. Orvax had been protected, and the slavery movement could continue. Not bad all in all.

"Admiral to fleet, congratulations. The enemy has fled."

The crew cheered as the fleet broke off from their now futile chase, and went into a protective half sphere over the planet.

XX

"A superior job Admiral. And considering the size of the T'Surr fleet, even the Senate can't judge us too much for our little bit of skulduggery." Niathal said happily.

Gavin and Tresina were in his cabin. After the politics of victory had been dealt with, Chief Ak'la had authorised Tresina to invite Orvax into the Galactic Alliance, and they had obviously accepted. Now, the _Lion Heart_ would remain behind with the _Larkhess_ and the _Shaak Ti_ as guards for the Alliance's new acquisition. Meanwhile Gavin would return to Coruscant with the rest of the task force, and when he got there, perhaps recommend Syal for her bravery...and also drop her father a line about how reckless she had been.

"Thank you Admiral. What will we do about the T'Surr?" he asked curiously.

Tresina frowned in thought.

"If you ask me the only thing we could do is blockade their homeworld, but as they aren't part of the Alliance that could lead to its own set of complications. Other species may see it as an act of aggression and rally to them, perhaps blow it into a full scale conflict."

Niathal frowned in thought. Whatever their next move was, that would be Chief Ak'la's job to deal with, the military had done their part for the moment. But Tresina was right. While most civilised people within the galaxy did believe slavery should be eradicated, there were enough who would rally to the T'Surr if things got that contentious. Their only hope could be that a blockade of the T'Surr homeworld wouldn't blow everything out of proportion.

"We shall see. I shall see you both on your return to Coruscant. Safe journey." She said and flickered out.

Gavin sighed. The task force could jump any time it wanted, all it needed was his word. Signalling the bridge, the engines powered up and the task force leapt away.

"We saved the slavery question." Tresina said happily, and couldn't wait to see where the anti-slavery campaign took them next. But now that it had begun, she knew it would be hard to stop.

XX

"You failed us Nazarn!"

Nazarn bit back a furious retort. The government back on T'Surr, one member of which had actually abandoned Orvax in the first place, hadn't told him the Alliance would be there in force. While there had clearly been a bit of political manipulation going on behind the scenes in the Alliance, there always had been a chance that they would actually defend Orvax, especially since it was so important to the slave trade. And now news of his defeat was breaking out across the galaxy, and anti-slavery protests were getting more and more frequent, and many of them were getting a lot more vicious in their nature, as slaves began to kill their masters and vigilantes killed slave masters, while the masters put down other slaves with lethal force. The entire infrastructure of the T'Surr people was coming apart at the seams, and the government had the nerve to try and blame him for it!

"I did not know the Alliance would be there...and while I am on that fact I had a chance of bringing down that cruiser, it was the arrival of reinforcements that saved them from me. Next time...next time they will not be so lucky." He vowed.

The five members of the government who had hired him were glowering at him, four males and one female, all of them ferocious. If, as he had wanted to, they had let him take all of the fleet that they had then they could very well have still taken back Orvax. Now however the possibility of that happening looked incredibly remote.

"Our people do not appreciate when one of our most celebrated heroes fails in a simple mission! Already, ships are breaking off from orbit and striking out on their own, all due to your incompetence!" one leader snarled, and Nazarn favoured him with a sinister grin.

"Oh, they aren't striking out on their own." He said with a smile, and the female leader looked at him in concern.

"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously, her four eyes narrowed in dislike.

While the males were the ones who left the planet, the females were the ones who stayed behind to keep the home and the family in one piece. They also traditionally disapproved of bringing the slaves home to T'Surr itself, because while they did enjoy the benefits reaped from the slave trade, but felt their world should be kept free of offworld chattel. They were also incredibly suspicious of traders who were incredibly good at what they do...such males tended to cause a lot of upsets to the status quo and undermine their authority in the home, and the authority of the ones in power who kept the trade from spiralling out of control.

"What I mean is that as soon as I left Orvax, I contacted the vast majority of your fleet. They are insulted by your cowardice and incompetence, and as such I summoned them to join me...and we will break the back of this slavery movement, and while we are at it, abandon you to your fate. Your failures led to this, and now me and my fellow slavers will remind the galaxy of what it is to defy the will of a true slaver!"

"You cannot do this, we will be defenceless against the Alliance!" one leader yelled, as the remaining ships in orbit were clearly breaking off to join their new master.

"Good. And besides, you only have yourselves to blame. Slavery used to be about just that, slavery, not about quotas or politics, and you lot have destroyed that, so now it is time to bring an end to the state's interference...and we will do that by abandoning the state." He snarled and slammed the holo off.

The time had come for such drastic measures. After all, slavery was never meant to be about pandering to the leadership, it was about how much of a reputation a being could make for themselves through their actions. But ever since the current leadership had taken over, it had been more about quotas, making a profit, and even being nice to slaves as it got more productivity out of them. And the fact that the council's incompetence had lost them Orvax itself had just kicked off a whole load of resentment to the government...resentment that Nazarn was now going to use in order to fix the T'Surr slave trade...and more importantly make himself the greatest slaver the galaxy had ever seen, and the ultimate ruler of T'Surr and any slave he encountered.

"Boss, the fleet is forming up around us!" his sensor officer cried, and he smiled as he watched more Gladiator Destroyers, more Nebulons and a load more Assassin corvettes fall into line with more Imperial frigates and Victory frigates.

"Good. Now find me a world, where we can get a load of chattel...its time to remind them all of what being a slaver is all about!" he roared in triumph and his crew roared in approval as he left the bridge, heading to his cabin.

His cabin was large but sparsely furnished, with only a cot for sleeping on and two chairs. The rest of the room was given over to his trophies. Heads of beasts that he had hunted adorned the walls, while cabinets displaying the bones, pelts and fingers of slaves took up the rest of the room. There were also two stuffed beings in the room, acting like statues, slaves that he had killed for daring to challenge him on his ship.

Yes, it was time for a new direction...one free from the restrictions of government.

XX

The _Falcon_ was quiet as it travelled through subspace. When Han had asked what they were doing next, K'Kruhk had said he had to meditate on their next move and as such, Han had just set the ship to drift relatively aimlessly in the void until the elder Jedi figured out what their next move was. None of them particularly minded this much. Jacen and Ben were too busy trying to cheer Jaina up over her breakup with Jag to offer much resistance, while Luke and Mara were catching up on reports from Coruscant, and Han and Leia saw to the maintenance of the ship. K'Kruhk had went into deep meditation, while Lumiya was appointed to keep an eye on Alema who was currently having a very fluid conversation with herself, despite the late hour of the night. As she ranted and raved, the only other one awake was Lumiya, who had been far too interested in the reports she had been receiving to sleep. While Tavira had not made any more progress she was clearly up to no good of some form or other, due to the lack of communication between Valek and the fleet.

On top of that, her agents in the Ascendancy had gone silent. While the government had been relatively silent ever since the Killik Crisis, this was completely new, so what was going on there worried here immensely.

Also, there had apparently been rumours of a red ship shooting around the outskirts of the galaxy. Lumiya knew full well what that meant, and she knew Krayt well enough to know that it wasn't good that it was happening...or that he had been seen, the fool was courting exposure again.

But it was the slavery question that had interested her the most. While the various comings and goings of the slave trade had been approved or ignored by the Empire for years, this time she could actually see a way to make the matter relatively useful to her cause. A very famous slaver by the name of Nazarn, had just been defeated by Gavin Darklighter's task force. That in and of itself was interesting enough, but the fact that the same slaver was later seen heading away from T'Surr with a bigger fleet than he had left Orvax with was very interesting to her. And being an opportunist, and the still ambiguous nature of Krayt's forces, she needed all the help she could get.

Making sure the blasted astromech (who had ruined more than one good plan over the years) was powered down for the night, she accessed the comm and signalled the slaver flagship.

The ferocious face of Nazarn flicked to life in front of her, and she smiled slightly. Yes, he could be very useful.

"Greetings Nazarn. I am Lumiya, the Dark Lord of the Sith." She said, and his three glowing red eyes narrowed, making the effect more sinister in the relative darkness of the ship.

"A Sith? Heard you were all extinct." He said suspiciously, and Lumiya laughed.

"So the Jedi wish. You see, I am contacting you with a proposition." She said, and the slaver looked at her suspiciously.

"What would you be proposing to one such as I? I have no love for Jedi or Sith, and I can only assume you want my help for something or other." He growled, and Lumiya cursed inwardly. He was a bit too clever for her taste, but that could be worked around.

"What I am proposing is...a pairing. I know of your recent defeat at the hands of Gavin Darklighter and the Galactic Alliance. However, even with your considerable and not insignificant skills, I very much doubt you will be able to pay him back properly for your humiliation."

Nazarn snarled.

"That little whelp will one day pay, and my retreat has nothing to do with you, Sith." He spat, pointing his finger at her in distaste.

Lumiya arched an eyebrow then smiled.

"Listen to me Nazarn. There is a plan afoot. One that will see the end of the Galactic Alliance...and hence one that will enable you to get back at Darklighter." She said, and despite his impassive hideous face, she knew he had taken the hook, all she had to do now was reel him in.

"You are going to destroy the Alliance? In your dreams perhaps." Nazarn said mockingly, and Lumiya's eyes flashed.

"Mind your tongue, slaver. Believe me there is a scheme, and it will lead to the downfall of the Alliance. As such, a stronger better power will rise in its place...and they may not be objective to slavery." She said innocently, and she could see his greed rising.

"You promise much Sith, but you do so vaguely. I promised my fleet we would return to what we used to be, powerful slavers, and that does not include an alliance with you. And you're telling me what I would get, but I would need to wait, and what is more you don't tell me what I will get out of it." He snarled, and she had to admit, he did have a point.

"On the contrary, it can include an alliance with me, all you would have to do is use my base at Bimmiel as the centre for your operations and you could go and enslave anyone you wanted, provided you didn't draw any undue attention to yourself. And you wouldn't need to wait much longer, all the wheels are now turning, it will not be long now, not long at all. And as for what I get, well you see, I find myself outnumbered by my 'allies', and need to counter their inevitable betrayal. And what is more, I could find many a use for a being such as yourself." She said, but the stubborn T'Surr shook his head.

Resisting the urge to crush him like a bug with the Force, she instead focused on her anger and forced it down so she didn't wind up wrecking anything and alerting the others.

"Why should I serve you? What you have given me is empty promises and a wish for me to be your dogsbody. That isn't why my fleet joined me." He sneered.

Lumiya cursed inwardly at the more stubborn species of the more stubborn species. Males were stubborn enough without being T'Surr males on top of it.

"I know. But you promised them glory, and a return to the ways of old...the Trandoshans have lost their edge. Species across the galaxy are gaining their freedom. When my plan reaches completion, these various freed peoples...will need re-educated. I can just imagine one such as you doing that." She said, and this time she truly did have him.

"I would be in charge of all the slaves, able to do whatever I wanted?" he asked curiously.

"Yes Nazarn, all it requires is a little patience and faith..." she whispered, and he gave a slow nod.

"But until then, we can use your place as a base and still get slaves?"

Lumiya arced her eyebrow.

"Of course, provided you behave yourself along with it and do not draw attention to me." She said, and he gave her a nod.

"Fine Sith, but if you betray me, I will rip off your head and carbon flush down your throat." He snarled and the image went black.

Lumiya seethed. She had been successful but the blasted slaver was a little too unreliable...but provided he did as he was told she could put up with him for the time being. The fact that she didn't actually intend to allow him to rule the entire slave trade when this was all over was immaterial. After all...he was imminently expendable.

Deleting the record of her transmission, and hoping Solo didn't have some way to check it she headed aft, confident that her plan was going well and coding a small report to Wethen on her Emperor's Ear to alert him to Nazarn's arrival.

Just as she entered the lounge, she saw a bleary eyed, night trouser clad Ben, strolling through to the galley. However, he heard her coming and turned to face her, rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"What are you up to?" he asked suspiciously, ignoring the distant sound of Alema talking to herself.

Lumiya smiled, a lie already coming to her.

"Something was beeping and it was driving me crazy, so I switched it off so I might be able to sleep. What are you up to?" she retorted.

"I was going to get a drink...and unlike you I can move around the ship without anyone getting suspicious." He said, a typical teenage response, making Lumiya grin.

"Oh very well. Well, even mistrusted Sith need their sleep sometimes. Goodnight Ben." She said, walking past him.

Ben looked at the Sith curiously. She was clearly up to something down there, but he couldn't figure out what. But, then something was nagging at the back of his mind. She was a Sith Lord. K'Kruhk had said that the Emperor had hidden from the Jedi for years until he was finally able to reveal himself and destroy the Jedi Order. Lumiya had also hidden for years, as a way to avoid his father and any other Jedi finding her, and Ben didn't believe for a second that she had been found just because K'Kruhk had known where she was due to the other timeline. She wouldn't have revealed herself unless she stood to gain from it. But...how had she stayed hidden for so long?

"Lumiya?" he called curiously, and she turned to him expectantly.

"I was wondering...how do Sith stay hidden for so long? As in how do they stop the Jedi finding them?"

Lumiya looked at him curiously. Why did he want to learn to hide? From what she had heard of the boy growing up, he needed no lessons in how to hide within the Force, his parents had been endlessly exasperated by it because of the traumas of the Vong War. Or was this just natural curiosity?

Either way, it could be used to her advantage.

"Well there are generally three ways in which a Sith remains hidden. The first is to hide next to a miasma of dark side energy, much like Yoda did, to prevent Vader and the Emperor finding him. They cannot then be differentiated from the other dark side power present. The second way is to be extremely proficient in Force cloak, which allows them to hide in plain sight effectively, where they are so adept as masking their dark side presence that even if they were in the same room as the Grand Master of the Jedi, they would not be able to be sensed. That was how Darth Sidious remained hidden from a much numerically superior Jedi Order when he was becoming Emperor. And lastly, they remove themselves from the mainstream galaxy, like sit on unimportant worlds or barren worlds, far removed from everything so the Jedi do not bother going looking for them."

Ben looked at her curiously.

"Is that what you did?"

"I sort of did a bit of both. I hid in the home of an old Sith Lord, Darth Vectivus, cloaking my presence, and I also used a form of Force cloak to hide myself from view, so that even if your father decided he wanted to go looking for me he wouldn't be able to find me, and the Home's location is far enough removed that he shouldn't be able to sense me unless he was in that general area anyway."

Ben thought about this then looked at her again.

"So you can basically hide in plain sight?" he asked, and to prove she could, she did so, rendering herself nearly invisible, with only a faint outline able to be seen and that was only because Ben was already looking at her.

"Cool. Could-could you teach that?" he asked, figuring that it would be rather handy for some missions if he could disappear.

Lumiya returned to normal and looked at him sceptically.

"Has Jacen not taught you Force cloak?" she asked curiously, sowing a seed in Ben's mind.

"No, he's taught me Force flash but that's about it." He said, wanting to defend his cousin, but Lumiya pressed on.

"Very well then, sit with me." She said and the two headed over to the sofa.

"Clear your mind and feel the particles of light around you. Feel only yourself as if you and light are the only things present within this room. Now, calm your breathing and immerse yourself within the light that you feel, fade your body fade into nothingness, feel your body become lighter and clearer..." she said, then it occurred to her that Ben actually had vanished. Interesting, yet another relatively arcane art that he had mastered quickly.

"Most impressive."

"That is cool. Thanks Lumiya." Ben said, returning to normal, then he looked thoughtful.

"Can you see people's Force essence even if they're doing that?" he asked curiously and she had to say, she hadn't really thought of it before.

"An interesting question. Let's see shall we?" she asked and faded into the background. Ben performed his Force sight, and looked at Lumiya curiously.

"It sort of looks like you're neutral now, like you're just a non-sensitive or something." He reported, and she mused on this.

"Interesting. Now, I really must get to bed, try and preserve what's left of my beauty and patience." She said, and Ben bid her goodnight, and she went back to her bunk, smiling.

XX

"I appreciate that Master Katarn." Senator Wuul said as the two of them headed towards the Senate chamber.

"I don't see why the Senate is being so stubborn on this point. The T'Surr technically made an act of war against the Alliance." Kyle said as a protocol droid teetered past.

The Sullustan fixed him with a stern gaze.

"Because, as you know full well, the _Alderaan's Memory_ and its task force wasn't meant to be anywhere near that planet as Orvax hadn't been approved into the Alliance yet. As such we were trespassing on what in theory belongs to the T'Surr."

Kyle sighed. Sometimes, not very often but sometimes, he actually missed the Rebellion, at least they didn't have to worry about this sort of thing back then. Now all of it was politics.

"Look Luew, I know that and you know that. But Admiral Niathal was doing what she thought was best you know. She only wanted to protect the slaves, and the _Memory _being there could be justified."

Luew looked at him sternly, but he did have a smile playing on his lips.

"You might get away with that if the _Sibwarra_ or the _Valiant_ had been there in orbit. But it wasn't, it was a Mediator cruiser, which isn't the sort of thing one ordinarily sends on scouting missions, that's what we have Nebulons for."

Kyle smiled.

"Aww come on buddy, you know what that monster Nazarn did, even if we weren't meant to be there!"

Luew stroked his chin in thought and Kyle rolled his eyes.

"What, are you going to vote against the blockade of T'Surr?" he asked, and the Sullustan shook his head.

"Of course I won't vote against it, if you ask me the longer we keep that monster locked up the better. What worries me is the preparation folder Director Kalenda sent round saying that a large part of their fleet has left the planet, you know, all the mercs and slavers they assembled. As they never went to Orvax, it worries me where they have gone, and some might say it makes a blockade redundant."

Kyle frowned. He had to admit, the wily Senator did have a point. And the dispute over the legality of their presence there would undermine any action. But the fact remained, that aside from the Hutts, the T'Surr were some of the most well known slavers in the galaxy, and many still remembered the legacy of the most infamous one, Krayn, well over sixty odd years since his defeat. If slavery was to be destroyed, such species as they would have to be brought to heel.

"Look Luew, I know that, but the T'Surr are still a well known slaver species like the Zygerrians. If we are to defeat slavery, and I know many in the Senate do, we need to begin by curbing the excesses of slaver species." Kyle reasoned and Luew did have to concede the point.

As they walked into the Grand Corridor, which was full of various species, Kyle extended his awareness, a habit he had picked up many years before when he had been chasing after the Dark Jedi Desann. And when he felt a fellow Jedi, he felt comforted, and returned to his conversation.

XX

Abeloth closed her eyes, her long tendrils reaching out across the wastes of the galaxy. She had been along for so long, and her other children had been denied the opportunity to rejoin her...but this time she would not be undone.

"_Come to me child...we can be happy..._"

XX

Radd Minker blinked and looked around. He felt danger, danger all around him. The large Brubb edged to the wall, his yellow skin sweating and he looked around, for the source of all the danger, the one who was setting everyone in this room against him, the one who wished him harm.

And he spotted him too. Calmly pretending to be Master Katarn, this imposter was the one who was threatening the Senate, threatening innocent people and turning them against their will...and threatening him. Lighting his saber, he sprang.

XX

"I know my friend but..." Luew was cut off with a squeak as Kyle Force pushed him to the floor, and barely sprang out of the way as Radd Minker leapt at him, his yellow blade swinging at him, going for his head.

Kyle grunted and lit his blue saber as the Brubb Jedi landed, glaring at him wildly as screams emitted from all around him and panicked people began jostling around, the very thing they shouldn't do when there was a lightsaber duel in the offing.

"Radd, I know what's happened to you, I can help you..." he said soothingly, bringing the Force to bear.

The yellow skinned Brubb leered at him.

"No, I will stop you. I will free these people. What did you do to them?" he roared and his lightsaber hissed dangerously as he brandished it at the Jedi Master as people continued to push around them.

"I did nothing Radd, you're hallucinating..."

"FREE THEM!" Radd yelled and the Brubb leapt, Kyle's blue blade rising up to meet the other as the terrified denizens of the corridor started screaming and hurtling for the exits, which Kyle supposed was a little better than just milling about aimlessly in terror.

Kyle blocked another savage swing, surprised by the Brubb's strength as the younger Jedi hammered away at him, trying to get past his aggressive defence. Kyle blocked a swing before grinding his lightsaber along Radd's, aiming for the Brubb's eye and making the Knight back off. Kyle then pressed the attack, his blue blade a blur as he hammered away at Radd's saber, trying to subdue him without actually hurting him. Radd then dropped to the floor, making Kyle think he had hit him when he knew he hadn't, and next thing he knew his feet were coming out from under him as he slammed into his back and Radd leapt over to Luew, who was struggling to get back to his feet. Kyle grimaced and rolled to his feet but Radd was too quick, landing behind the Sullustan and bringing his saber across his throat.

"One wrong move, and I'll dice your dogsbody." Radd snarled as Kyle got to his feet.

Luew was beginning to sweat and he looked at Kyle nervously. He hoped profusely that the other Jedi had something up his sleeve.

"You know, the last time I got held hostage, I spent three months in a Vong prisoner camp. I'd prefer a better resolution this time Kyle." He said worriedly, and Kyle closed his eyes, centering himself as he turned off his saber.

"Hold on Luew." He said, and blasted both of them backwards with an almighty Force push.

The two screamed, however Luew's scream lessened in volume when Radd's saber came flying out of his hand and clattered against the wall. The two of them hurtled up the corridor, air whistling through their ears, and Luew suddenly felt himself be pulled forward slightly, before there was a sickening crunch from behind them as Radd slammed into the wall. Luew looked down at himself curiously as Kyle gently floated him down to the floor, having pulled him slightly away from Radd's grip.

"Than..." Luew began but Kyle shoved him to the floor as Radd's saber leapt back into its owner's hand and the Brubb charged the Jedi Master.

This time Kyle held nothing back, his blue blade a swirl of light as he batted away Radd's attacks as if they were meaningless. Kyle then slammed their blades together, grunting as he exerted against his foe, and rubbed his blade along Radd's scoring the hilt and taking off Radd's finer nails, making the Brubb howl in pain. Kyle then delivered an almighty round house kick to Radd, then blasted him into the wall with a Force push. The Brubb swayed for a second and slid down to the ground, finally subdued, just as security rushed into the corridor.

Rolling his eyes at their worse than usual lateness, Kyle helped Luew back to his feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and the Sullustan nodded, dusting himself off.

"Thanks for the save. You know, I was going to vote that way anyway, you didn't need to organise all this to try and convince me." He said lightly and Kyle laughed, before getting his comm and raising Cilghal.

"Cilghal, it's Kyle. We've got another one down." He said grimly, and he could hear her sigh of remorse.

"Who was it this time?"

"Radd Minker."

Cilghal made a popping noise, a sign of exasperation.

"Very well. Bring him to me, and then with any luck he'll reveal something the others so far haven't." She said grimly, and he switched it off as Chief Ak'la came dashing along the corridor, looking frantic.

"Luew, are you alright?" she asked as she reached them and the Senator waved off her concern, reiterating that he was fine.

She then turned to Kyle and looked at Radd's prone form sadly.

"Another one Master Katarn?" she asked, and when he nodded grimly she looked down at the defeated Jedi in despair.

"What is happening to them?" she asked herself.

"We don't know yet Chief Ak'la but I assure you we will get to the bottom of it." He promised, his eyes set.

They needed to find out what was going on with these young Jedi before anyone got hurt. But all the signs were there...something mysterious striking down young Jedi, Master Skywalker absent from Coruscant, the slavers on the run while slavery declined, rumours of increased numbers of Yuuzhan Vong...the clues were all there. While alone and even taken two or three at a time, they seemed innocent, to one who had been doing this as long as Kyle, they indicated one thing.

Something was going on in the galaxy. And the dark side was sure to have something to do with it.

XX

Another Interceptor frigate shot past the viewport of the _Aqua Blue_, its lasers firing. Uglies twirled around outside, dancing with Pash Cracken's Ace Squadron, and Wedge wished nothing more than to be out there flying around in an X-Wing, but no, he had to remain in command aboard a cruiser nowadays. Outside the _Thunderflame_ was chasing down a rogue corvette that was trying to make a run for it. While the ships that were here weren't particularly well armed, they were certainly very numerous, and while most of them were converted freighters and tankers, they were enough of a threat that they had taken the _Skytern _and the _Chivalrous_ out of action.

The pirate groups may be unifying, but Wedge still didn't see why Niathal was so determined to crush them beyond all recognition. Yes they were a threat and he could appreciate sending a message, but he was beginning to think this mission was overkill. But, he supposed it all depended on what Face found out on his mission.

Wincing as an Ugly smashed into the shields of his Mon Cal Cruiser he turned to watch the inevitable resolution of the battle, as Tycho's _Rebel Dream_ broke apart the spine of the Nebulon they were using as a command ship.

XX

General Kargin of the Hawk-Bats frowned as the pirates, under the leadership of the very charismatic Commodore Collonzas, cheered wildly. With the various attacks orchestrated by Admiral Niathal against pirates of all sorts, the various pirate groups had been clamouring for a way to get back at the Alliance. However, due to the nature of the various pirate groups, they would never be able to mount any effective form of resistance to the anti-piracy task force.

That was until Collonzas came along. Incredibly charismatic and clever, and ruling his own pirate band from a very old but still lethal Sabaoth Destroyer, he had come out of nowhere. Going here and there, managing to get past Alliance blockades and slip right back out again, he had been a phantom who had been driving Director Kalenda up the wall as he went from place to place, convincing pirate groups to gather and hear what he had to say. Due to the intrigue surrounding him, they had all agreed and now he had done the unthinkable: he had unified the pirate groups under him, giving him a fleet that could match most Alliance fleets numerically at the very least.

Kargin looked at Dissek, his tall, burly bodyguard, and saw that he wore exactly the same expression. This wasn't good news...not for their real identities.

The various pirates began to split up, heading back for their own shuttles, which they would take back to their main ships that were orbiting the old burnt out looking space station. Kargin motioned for Dissek to follow him and the two trotted back to the shuttle, where Morrt was waiting for them. They took the lift down to the corridor, and Kargin stopped when he saw a Twi'lek woman strolling boldly towards them, clad like a mercenary with several deadly weapons at her disposal. Problem was, the two of them knew this Twi'lek.

"Fa-General!" Dissek said in surprise, covering his slip quickly as she arrived.

"General Kargin." The Twi'lek purred in greeting, and Kargin had to act quickly to keep his mask in place.

"Captain Seku...it's been a while." He said gruffly, and continued his walk towards the shuttle, trying to ignore the feelings that were blossoming within his heart.

"That is has. Dissek." Seku said in greeting, and Dissek nodded, a tight grin appearing on his face.

The three of them entered the shuttle, and Morrt, their Gamorrean pilot, looked at her in shock as she entered the cockpit, before he gunned the engine and headed the ship back for their flagship, going under the name of the _Night Caller_, a retrofitted Corellian corvette. The trip was silent, with Seku smirking at the three of them as the shuttle landed, allowing them out into the relative safety of their homeship, which then jumped away from the meeting sight, and Kargin heaved a sigh of relief.

He then lifted his hand and proceeded to peel off the prosthetic enhancements that made up his disguise. A few seconds later and he had stripped them all off, to reveal the still relatively boyish face of Garik 'Face' Loran, the leader of Wraith Squadron. Besides him, Dissek happily removed his scars in order to reveal the still dark and handsome face of Kell Tainer, the demolitions expert of the group. Morrt, otherwise know as Voort saBinring, or Piggy, stretched widely as they left the shuttle. Next, they were joined by Jedi Knight, and Kell's wife, Tyria, who was followed in by the superstitious Devaronian Elassar Targon, who was followed up by Hohass 'Runt' Ekwesh. It was then that Face turned to Seku, otherwise known as Dia Passik and grinned.

"Well Dia, I didn't expect to see you again, least of all places in the midst of a massive pirate gathering." He said with a grin as Tyria kissed Kell's cheek in welcome.

"Me neither, but I recognised your old Kargin outfit. Couldn't you think up something new?" she asked with a coy smile and Piggy's electric voicebox whined.

"It's the curse of being so good at what we do...there's no one better than us, so it means we need to recycle. Face's mental facilities aren't what they used to be." He said, and Face glowered at him, insulted.

Runt shook her hand in greeting, the large equine like creature thrilled to have most of the original Wraiths back together again.

"It is good to see you Dia. But what are you doing here?" he asked curiously and she smiled.

"Well, since I left the Wraiths, I've been tracking down slavers on Ryloth, freeing a few here and there. The most recent one I was after was working with that lunatic Nazarn, so I decided to follow up on it, and then I found out that there was a link between him and some pirates working the system. I got in with them and wormed my way into that conference."

Dia had been a member of Wraith Squadron following its inception. After the Thrawn Campaign, and also partly due to her breakup with Face who she had been seeing at the time she had resigned from the squadron and had headed back to Ryloth in order to combat slavery. While she and Face had parted on good terms, it was clear that the two had missed each other after all these long years.

The lot of them headed to the bridge to see Shall Nelprin, who technically outranked Face as she had left the squadron but had requested to be seconded for this mission, speaking with Commander Tabanne.

"Dia!" she exclaimed in surprise and hugged her fiercely, while Atril turned to Face.

"Did they organise?"

Face frowned as he sat down in the seat Shalla had just left.

"Yes...but it was almost too easy, its like Collonzas didn't even have to try, it didn't faze him at all. They all basically just did what he wanted. And what's more I still don't get why Admiral Niathal wanted them unified in the first place." Face said, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"They really just agreed to do it? Just like that?" Tyria asked sceptically, and Kell nodded.

"I wish we could have taken you with us, your Force stuff might have been helpful." He said, looking worried.

Tyria frowned. She hadn't been allowed to go with the party in case anyone recognised her for being a Jedi, in which case they would be lucky to get out alive. And while she did have to admit that it was strange that Niathal wanted them to unify, it did make a certain amount of sense from a certain point of view, because if Niathal broke the collective pirate group the pirates would never be a threat again. But still she was taking a big risk...

"It's good having us all back together again, just like old times." Elassar said with a toothy grin and they all nodded.

"So what do we do now?" Runt asked curiously.

"I would say that's obvious, we continue with what we are doing, pretending to be pirates. That's the only way we can figure out what they are up to isn't it?" Piggy put to the room and they all nodded in agreement.

Tyria frowned, and Kell nudged her gently.

"What's up sweetie?"

"I don't know...I've got a –"

"No, you will not finish that sentence!" Elassar said desperately, placing his hand over her mouth.

"As soon as someone says that everything always goes south!" Shalla protested.

"It's bad luck!" Elassar whined and Tyria rolled her eyes while the others laughed.

"You hiring?" Dia asked innocently, and Face grinned at her.

"Are you offering?" he asked, and though he didn't want to admit it to himself, he was very much hoping she would say yes...but they had tried that once before and it hadn't worked. But the feelings were still there...

"Yes I'm offering." She sighed dramatically, and they all grinned.

"Welcome back to Dinner Squadron!" Kell cried with a grin.

"And Silly Squadron!" Runt added and they all laughed as the _Night Caller_ headed back to the pirate stomping grounds.

XX

Wedge smiled as the last of the decoy fleet leapt away, much reduced in their size and effectiveness. The last of his fighters fired off a few more shots before they pulled back bound for their ships. A relatively successful engagement all round. Even if it had been just a decoy, it had certainly done the trick of making the enemy think that they didn't know that they had unified. However, they had received word from Wraith Squadron indicating that they had indeed done that, and were going to continue with their mission in order to see what Collonzas was up to, as he didn't seem interested in uniting them all for one big strike...at least not yet.

"Orders from Coruscant General Antilles. Admiral Niathal says that we are to return home, at least until the Wraiths figure out what the pirates are all up to." An officer reported, and Wedge nodded, happy with the news.

Niathal had gotten what she wanted, but until the pirates actually acted as a unified group they could do very little more. As such, some down time was in order. Wedge grinned as he thought about the trip home. Wes, Hobbie and Tycho would all come over here certainly to 'debrief' and relax, and Tycho's head would be away thinking of Winter. Hobbie and Wes, eternal bachelors as they were, would be concocting their next trip out into the wide world, and Wedge, after he checked with Gavin that Syal was alright, would be able to relax for a while with Iella, and also try and figure out what had happened to his nephew's relationship with Jaina.

However, that being said, he was still...uneasy. Something about the pirate groups unifying didn't make sense. He got why Niathal wanted it, because if she broke their spine while unified they would never be a threat again, but he couldn't help but think she was missing something. Something that they needed to find out soon. Though he loathed to admit it to himself, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Alright, signal the fleet and prepare to jump for home." Wedge said, and he looked out at the wreckage of the enemy ships, most of which wouldn't be able to harm them on any grand scale anyway. Which meant...they were clearly meant to be decoys. So what were the pirates playing at?

XX

The black vessel known as the _Governor_, Collonzas' Sabaoth Destroyer, looking like some distantly related cousin of the old Lucrehulk vessels of the Trade Federation began to hover above a massive red giant, transitioning to a steady drift in order for the leader of the newly unified group of pirates to make his call.

For months now, he had been going back and forth across the galaxy, using his cloak capable Destroyer to slip past the tightest Alliance nets in order to rally any and all pirate groups to his cause. And now, after their meeting, he had finally succeeded. The various groups, for those who had a couple of freighters at their disposal to those who had old warships that they had refitted, all of them were now under his command, under the command of his mighty Destroyer. While it may be old, it was still very lethal, having been refitted numerous times, and its cloaking device made it an excellent ambush vessel. And now, he was at the lead of a united, pirate armada...if only they knew that it was all part of a further, more complicated plan.

The ship was drifting steadily, and he hoped that his master would be able to take his call. Bowing, he waited, as the transmission sent to an Emperor's Ear unit. A few minutes later, his harassed looking master, Lumiya, materialised in holo form before him.

"Master." He said, inclining his head.

"Collonzas. Speak quickly, Leia gets up early and so does K'Kruhk and the last thing I need is for them to see me speaking with my pirate leader of an acolyte." She hissed and he smiled disarmingly.

Collonzas was a tall good looking man, if not a bit grizzled from his life as a pirate. A thin scrubby red beard surrounded his face and long auburn hair fell to his shoulders, which were quite broad and he was a well developed, well muscled man. Finding this ship in the wilderness of the far reaches of the Corporate Sector where he grew up, he had started trying to make a decent living, but getting ripped off one too many times by the Hutts had jaded him so much that he had found like minded people to himself, and had formed them into a group to strike back at the overgrown slugs. Said group had then become a scourge to the Hutts, and it was chasing a convoy of Hutt goods that had led him to Lumiya. His group had dropped out of lightspeed into the waiting jaws of Lumiya's fleet which had needed supplies. She had thrashed the convoy and had then disabled his ship, and when she had come over to talk to him, she had revealed to him his Force-sensitivity, and she had offered to train him. And now, a few years later, he was about to earn his rightful place as her apprentice, having fulfilled his obligation to her.

"Master...I have unified the groups, they acted exactly as you said they would." He said proudly, and she favoured him with a smile.

"Excellent Collonzas. You have done well. Soon now, the time will be right to make you my apprentice." She promised, her eyes glistening.

She had required a useful acolyte who would be able to help her offset the power of Krayt's forces. As such, the pirates would be relatively useful in that regard. She also needed to keep that belligerent Mon Calamari occupied, and with the smugglers a relatively well behaved bunch, she was unable to exploit the traditional Mon Calamari distaste for them, so she had instead opted for the pirates, and Niathal had done exactly what she had required, going after the pirate and slaver groups with a vengeance...hence allowing Lumiya to get Nazarn's support a little easier and what was more, it also allowed Collonzas to unify the pirates as she had desired. All was going according to plan...from her point of view at least. The fact that she didn't intend to make him her apprentice didn't matter in the slightest...but he was a useful acolyte, much how Asajj Ventress had once been to Count Dooku.

"Thank you master. It will be soon?" he asked hopefully, a grin on his face.

"Yes my pupil...after the death of Darth Krayt we shall begin your apprenticeship. But, until such a time, continue seemingly random attacks. The Alliance will know of the unification..."

"Begging your pardon master, but how will they know?" he asked curiously, and she smiled.

"One of the pirate groups I okayed your invite to, one of them was the Hawk-Bats...which is an alias for Wraith Squadron. But as people don't care much about the Galactic Civil War anymore, they think they can get away with not studying it, hence why you didn't know." She said with a smile and he looked up at her indignantly.

"But why do you want them to know?" he demanded and she smiled.

"Because now they will chase their tails looking for a unified group, allowing you to cause more chaos as a unified in name but not in reality group. All shall become clear in the fullness of time my apprentice. Just have your new allies attack here, there and everywhere. That will weaken the Alliance, chipping away at their strength and their forces and leaving the core wide open to more damage and chaos, which the slavery thing and the slavers will also add to. All is going according to plan my apprentice." She said, and he bowed.

"As my lady wishes it, so it shall be." He said, bowing.

"You are doing well Collonzas. Continue to do so, and soon now you shall be my new apprentice." She promised, and her holo flickered out.

Collonzas grinned as he got to his feet. Now to make his second call...

And as he did so, the face of Darth Oracle came into view, along with that of Darth Wyyrlok.

"Collonzas, it has been a while since you last called." Wyyrlok said in greeting and Collonzas inclined his head.

While Lumiya had promised to make him her apprentice upon the completion of this plan of hers, he had never been one for patience. As such, he had been extremely fortunate when Darth Oracle had foreseen him in one of her visions. As such, she and Wyyrlok had contacted him, and in exchange for letting them know what Lumiya was up to and helping her with her plan, they in return had given him some basic Sith exercises, and had also sent him a lightsaber that he trained with, and in his own opinion he had become quite proficient in the art of using it. Much better than waiting for Lumiya's feeble promises to come about.

"Yeah, I've been busy keeping Lumiya happy. She wanted the pirate groups unified, and now they are." He said, and the two Sith looked at one another curiously.

"What is she doing that for?" Oracle asked, her own visions having trouble discerning what Lumiya's plan was.

"Most likely to counter your fleet. And to distract Niathal."

Wyyrlok nodded grimly.

"Most likely. You have done well to inform us of this Collonzas. We shall dispatch some more lore for you to read over, and a transfer of funds will be placed into your account." He said, and Collonzas inclined his head.

"A pleasure doing business as always Lord Wyyrlok, Lady Oracle." He said as their holo flickered out.

Collonzas smirked as he went and sat down in his replica Star Destroyer captain's chair, as his first mate, a Zeltron by the name of Veklanna, entered, smiling at him seductively.

"How were your meetings?" she asked, sitting on the arm of his chair and wrapping her arms around his neck while she straddled his legs with her own.

"Good. We keep going with what we're doing." He said firmly, and she looked at him adoringly.

"So, if you don't like the Sith or the Jedi, why you working for them...and learning from them?" she asked in distaste.

"I'm learning from them because some of their tricks are quite handy...and I wouldn't say no to being able to see what Oracle can. And I am interested in Lumiya's plan, I want to know what she's up to. But most of all," he said, kissing her amply shown cleavage, "I'm looking forward to being able to stab the lot of them in the back, and hope they and the Jedi wipe each other out. Then we can all go about our business." He said with a smile as she kissed him in excitement.

XX

The office, with the window mercifully repaired, was darkening around them. Releqy sighed. It had been an eventful couple of days. With the T'Surr launching their attack on Orvax, her getting grilled for it in the senate, the very close contest to approve a blockade of T'Surr itself, absent slavers, unified pirates and yet another nutty Jedi, this one nearly killing a Senator...well let's just say that she felt she had thoroughly earned her evening glass of schnapps.

Across from her sat three very tired looking Jedi. Tresina Lobi was there, looking tired and wan, having arrived about half an hour ago and she had rushed down to give her report to the Chief of State. Beside her was Saba Sebatyne, the Barabel member of the Council and the one most concerned with the piracy problem. And beside her was Cilghal, who was trying relentlessly to find out what was wrong with the poor young Jedi but to no avail.

Releqy sighed as she made sure her glass of schnapps was out of sight of the holoviewer. The last thing she needed was for the Hutts to spread a rumour that she was an alcoholic. The large, coiled form of Borga Besadii Diori appeared before her and the Jedi, unknown and invisible to the Hutt, looked at her closely.

Borga had been one of the treacherous Hutts to negotiate a truce with the Vong during the Vong War. However, when it had been discovered that she, ever the profiteer, had been selling Vong secrets to the New Republic, Nas Choka had then launched a blistering attack on Hutt space, crippling their ability to effectively manage their empire. Since then Borga had worked hard to re-establish the Hutts, and for that reason Releqy knew she was in for an uphill struggle.

"Greetings Borga of the Hutts." She said formally, and the Hutt wiggled her tail as a sign of respect.

"Chief of State Ak'la." She said in a deep, booming voice.

"Well Borga, I trust you know why I have called." Releqy asked in a soothing voice, but far from soothing the Hutt, the Hutt tensed up, and her gleaming red eyes narrowed.

"If this is to do with slavery, then we have nothing to say to one another." Borga said, moving to deactivate the comm.

"Oh but with all due respect I think we do. You see, the Twi'leks changed everything when they granted the slaves their freedom. It started a process that is long overdue. Now, I am receiving reports left right and centre, all of them reporting to me that formerly enslaved species are demanding their freedom, and many of their calls are being heard and met. You may have also heard how my forces recently engaged a rogue slaver fleet working for the slaver government of T'Surr." Releqy said, and the Hutt looked livid.

"An illegal intervention. All you have done is infuriate other such species." Borga said proudly, but Releqy grinned.

"Perhaps. However, now that the cat is out of the bag, it would really put the cat amongst the pigeons if we continued to trade with you now that we have spoken out against slavery, we would have the metaphorical cat hanging over our heads, and knowing my luck it wouldn't be house trained." She explained.

The three Jedi looked at each other, baffled by what she had just said. Indeed, Borga looked even more confused than they did.

"What?" she demanded weakly.

Releqy pursed her lips.

"My point Borga, is that the slavery question is up for grabs. It is spreading like wildfire throughout the galaxy, and now that we have spoken out against it, it is only going to continue to spread. So I call for one reason...to know your stance on slavery." She said, and Borga beamed widely, but the Caamasi knew full well that any smile coming from the Hutts on abolishing slavery couldn't mean anything good.

"As you know Chief Ak'la, it is our fondest wish to eliminate slavery, however many people do not have the ways or means to settle the debts that are owed to us. As such, they must enter domestic service in order to pay their dues."

Saba hissed, and Releqy sent her a warning look. Domestic service was what they were calling it was it? She would see about that.

"Indeed? We both know that's just an excuse not to give sentient beings the freedom they are guaranteed under the Bill of Sentient Rights. And what is more, this idea of domestic service of yours, it should not apply to those born into slavery."

Borga slammed her tail angrily.

"We do not question your practices Chief, you would do well not to question ours." She hissed.

Releqy narrowed her eyes.

"I do when innocent people are being exploited because your species cannot stand the thought of losing their monopoly on the lives of innocent people. The Treaty of Vontor is illegitimate and you know it, and you have three species forced into 'domestic service' to ensure you keep your empire, which more often than not is built on illegal means." She sneered.

Borga was getting agitated and Releqy knew it. However, the Hutts millennia old blatant disregard for the rights of the slaves under their control had to end. It was time to deliver her ultimatum.

"Well Borga, I am afraid to say that while the slavery question continues, the Alliance cannot be associated with Hutt operations." She said boldly, and Borga narrowed her eyes.

"Meaning?" she asked.

"I am afraid that it means that our relations with you will not be able to continue...such as reparations payments, you know, the money we gave you to help rebuild your sector after you betrayed the galaxy to the Vong. Other benefits of being an ally of the Alliance will also stop, and I hear that our trade tariffs are going up..." she said, not intending it to sound like a threat but letting it be known in no uncertain terms that thats what she was doing.

Borga scoffed.

"You will abandon an ally, a profitable one, just to help a few petty slaves?" she demanded, slamming her tail in anger.

"No. Not abandon, but disassociate. We will still trade however, until the Treaty of Vontor is revoked we cannot be equal partners. That, and until the other slaves are freed from your grip." Releqy said, and Borga snarled.

"As that will never happen, we have nothing to say to each other." She said, and the holo flickered off.

"Well, that went swimmingly." Tresina said dryly as Releqy sipped her schnapps.

"Chief Ak'la, is it wise to risk a confrontation with the Hutts? The anti slavery movement is still relatively young." Cilghal pointed out and Releqy sighed.

"It's a catch twenty two my friend. If I don't confront the Hutts, I'm seen as condoning their enslavement of those under the Treaty of Vontor and if I do confront them I'm seen as jumping the gun." She said sadly.

Saba put a claw to her lips, her tongue tasting the air.

"Yez, but alienating the Huttz iz risky, especially with the Ascendancy still not talking to us." She pointed out and Releqy stood in irritation.

"I know that Master Sebatyne. Events are moving too fast my friends. Master Skywalker absent from Coruscant. Slavery on the out. Pirates and slaver groups unifying. Our fleets spread thin across the galaxy. Tensions between the main players of the galaxy. A whisper about the Vong. Insane Jedi. Military engagements...all is leading to something, but I cant see what, unless there's something you aren't telling me." She said, and the three Jedi looked at each other.

Recently, the Jedi had been finding it harder and harder to gaze into the future, to divine events. Something was blocking them, making it harder to see what the future held. And the only thing that they could think of the reason for that being was the rising power of the dark side, which was beginning to get more and more powerful. But she didn't need to know that, at least not yet.

"We do agree that something is going on in the galaxy. Events are moving too fast, we feel the Force may be at play." Cilghal said diplomatically, not really giving real information.

Releqy looked at them, then turned to look out of the window. The Ascendancy were being childish, and the Hutts endorsed slavery. Their allies were becoming few. Combined with other events throughout the galaxy, it was a wonder they were at peace at all. All she could feel was that things were building to a head and that head would burst...soon.

XX

In orbit around Bimmiel, Lumiya's expanded fleet hung, a testament to the former might of the Empire. Five Star Destroyers were flanked by frigates and corvettes, and on the other side of the planet was the fleet of the warlord Nazarn, leading from his flagship the _Unyielding_. Along with that were several Gladiator Star Destroyers, and numerous other frigates that were hanging in orbit around the planet.

On the bridge of the _Behemoth_, Wethen looked down in pride at the fleet that was now his to command, a fleet worthy of an admiral of the old days. And soon, those days would be upon them again when Lumiya's plan came to fruition. It had been the most fortuitous day in his life when he had been assigned to the flagship of the enigmatic Sith Lord. And now, he would be the hammer with which she would forge the changing of the galaxy.

"General Wethen, the slaver fleet is on the move again." The Rodian crewman reported and Wethen nodded.

Provided the slavers were careful he could live with them going back and forth on slaving runs. However, he couldn't deny that the maniac the slavers had in charge gave him the creeps. And he couldn't deny that he felt a small twinge of alarm every time Nazarn's ship left orbit, there was no telling what that monster was up to. Yes, he understood the need for the slaver fleet and he also knew what would happen to it after all was said and done, but that didn't mean he could set aside his worries in the here and now like Lumiya kept telling him to.

"The _Unyielding_ is leaving sir." The Rodian added and Wethen rolled his eyes.

The maniac was away to slaughter some other poor defenceless souls no doubt. Sighing, he nodded and turned back to face the fleet, deep in thought.

"General Wethen!" the Rodian called again and Wethen had to keep his patience in check. The lad was new and eager, he understood that, but he really didn't need to be informed every time one of the infernal pirates did something.

"Yes Ensign?" he asked patiently, turning to him.

"Sir, one of the beacons just went active!" he called excitedly, and Wethen descended into the crew pit, his expression curious.

Lumiya had set up several beacons in paths away from the Unknown Regions. To an outsider or any damn fool who just happened upon them, they would appear fairly inconspicuous. However, to others they would be a means of identification and location. They were programmed to give out a signal when they encountered a signal that had been used by the Emperor's Hands. As such, if they caught upon a signal coming from a ship that matched one of the Hands, it would send a message here to Lumiya, who was determined to hunt down the last of the Hands and kill them, and she was only one or two away from that goal.

"Which one is it?" Wethen asked curiously, and the Rodian's eyes widened in surprise.

"Sir, it's the _Singularity_." He reported and Wethen smiled tightly.

The _Singularity_ was a Star Destroyer, an old one, and during the Civil War it had been the flagship of Cronal. Cronal was another member of the Emperor's Hands, a powerful one, and aside from Mara Jade Skywalker, the one Lumiya was most interested in killing. However, his use of the dark side had all but destroyed his body, and he spent his days within a small life support chamber attached to a Neimodian mechno-chair. Driven insane by frequent visions, he had stayed out of the mainstream Imperial Court, but had still posed a deadly threat to the fledgling New Republic back in the day, attacking all over with TIE Defenders before he had been thwarted, seemingly for good, at the Battle of Mindor.

Despite this, he had not faded into obscurity like Maarek Stele had. Rather, he had directly interfered with Lumiya's plans many a time. The first time was when he had arranged for the capture of Mara Jade after her defeat of Lumiya at Caprionil. Lumiya had been hunting her relentlessly to get revenge against her, but she had been snatched from under her nose by Cronal's interference. However, that was nothing compared to his later betrayal.

In Lumiya and her second apprentice, Carnor Jax's plan to take over the Empire by destroying Palpatines clones, Cronal had directly worked against the two of them, despite Jax having been one of his former stormtroopers. Tipping off the Dark Jedi and the Royal Guard who were still loyal to the Emperor, he had made it harder for Jax to assume control of the Empire, and later this had led to Kir Kanos ruthlessly hunting Jax down and killing him. Due to the betrayal of her plan, and the death of her apprentice which she blamed Cronal for, Lumiya put the highest priority on finding Cronal.

And now, all these years later, he had apparently re-entered the galaxy, most likely with the idea of coming back onto the scene of galactic affairs, at a time when they needed to concentrate on Lumiya's plan...and also at a time when he had a ship that would be better off in Lumiya's hands than his.

"Well now, isn't that interesting? Why come back now Cronal? What do you have up your sleeve?" Wethen asked himself musingly.

"Orders sir?" the Rodian asked.

Wethen made a decision. This required investigating. And what was more, aside from Mara, Cronal was the most high profile Hand remaining, so it was his duty to investigate.

"Contact the slaver fleet and tell them I want two of their Gladiators. If they are part of this fleet they'll damn well act like it. Also, get the _Revenant _and the _Spectre_ to form up on us. We have a Star Destroyer to find." Wethen said, smiling.

The chase was on.

XX

The addition of the _Olympian_ and its taskforce to the fleet was a much needed boon to morale. The fact that it had all six of its fighter squadrons meant that Ar'alani's pilots could take a much needed break and get some rest, especially within the nebula. The other civilian ships quickly joined the fleet and Ar'alani wasted no time in getting the occupants to work in helping stop the Vong track them. And after a few days, she was prepared to lead the fleet out of the nebula, and continue the mission she had given herself: finding as many people as she could, with the intention of ferrying them all to the Redoubt where they would all be safe.

"A noble goal Admiral, but wouldn't we better off going straight for the Redoubt?" Fel asked.

Ar'alani looked at him magisterially.

"General, I appreciate your concern, and believe me I wish to reunite all those separated by this cowardly attack. However, our military forces are also scattered, divided, leaderless and that breeds stupidity and will just get more people killed. On top of that, the civilians are even more confused by this as we are. In the last few days, the Csilla beacon has gone off and many of the other beacons said stay away then changed to come here, and some have even changed back again. While we have been here, we don't know what else has been going on within the Ascendancy, and as the military, it is our job to protect the civilians, any we find. True, we don't have much to contribute to that at the moment, but that doesn't mean we won't try." She said firmly, and Captain Gov'ari, the captain of the _Olympian_, nodded.

"I agree. If there is anyone else out there we need to find them, if only to give us peace of mind. We need to find out what happened." He said in his gravelly voice, and Ar'alani nodded.

An hour later, the fleet, now roughly thirty two ships large and crammed with thousands of refugees, and only two of that number being military ships, they headed out of the nebula and hung for an hour at a considerable distance away from it. When no Vong attack was forthcoming, the fleet jumped to their next destination. And while the ship travelled, Ar'alani received a sitrep from Wynssa Fel on the bridge.

"The entire Ascendancy has been flattened. Csilla, as we know, has been destroyed, however the only other worlds that appear to have been totally destroyed are major military holdings. Other places are under blockade." Wynssa reported and Ar'alani shook her head.

"If we get out of this alive Commander, remind me to have a word with the Alliance about watching the number of ships the Vong have been building in secret." She growled, but Fel shook her head.

"Sorry Admiral, but this isn't their fault. While the initial assault was carried out by Vong ships, they owe a lot of their success to the fact that they ambushed us. Rather, the planets under blockade where the people are in camps are actually Vagaari ships." She reported, an Ar'alani's eyes widened.

If the Vong had allied with the Vagaari, things were even more serious than they had thought. The thought of two of the most vicious and warlike species in the galaxy working together with the mutual aim of destroying the Chiss was certainly one to make ones stomach drop.

"Very well. Any news on the rest of the military?" she asked, trying to fight the feeling of great unease brewing in her stomach.

Wynssa nodded sadly, and Ar'alani felt her heart drop.

"The Supreme Commander rallied a fleet to him at Klasse Ephemora, but he rushed in to Csilla, and the Vong were waiting for them. They destroyed the fleet, leaving us without a leader." She reported, and Ar'alani sighed.

She had trained him, he should have known better than to launch such a fool hardly and ill advised attack. Part of the reason for having the Redoubt was to give the military a place to fall back to if something happened to their usual military holdings, which of course in this case it had. Sighing, Ar'alani looked out of the viewport as an incredibly sobering thought came to her: she, the one who was meant to be retiring, could very well be the highest ranking member of the military left.

She looked at Wynssa. The one now in charge of their recon flights, in ordinary times it would be seen as a relatively soft option. Now however, with the entire Ascendancy aflame and the region under Vong/Vagaari blockade, and their worlds either destroyed or under occupation, it was possibly one of the most dangerous jobs they had going. Wynssa was the spitting image of her mother, although her hair was the same shade of brown her father's had been in his youth, and she had the warm chocolate coloured eyes that made many a young Chiss man weak at the knee. She, by virtue of the fact that she was related to Jagged Fel, had also been forced out of Chiss society after the debacle of Supply Depot Thrago and ever since then had been acting as a retainer for Ar'alani, and frequently beating the aging Admiral at cards, much to her great disgust.

"Thank you Commander. You have done well. As soon as we arrive at our next location, set out again." She said, and Wynssa saluted and headed off the bridge, passing her mother as she entered the bridge.

Formerly the actress Wynssa Starflare, her true name was Syal Antilles, sister of Wedge Antilles and wife of Soontir Fel. She had come to the Ascendancy when the Empire of the Hand had been amalgamated and had given her husband a family, and she had been heartbroken when Jag was expelled from the Ascendancy. She had started working with the refugee movement ever since, and had been transferred to the _Fell Defender_ as a favour to Ar'alani so the family could be together, as a favour to Soontir. As a result, she had been a godsend, organising the civilian fleet and keeping them happy while Ar'alani decided what their next move was.

"Admiral, I have bad news." She said uncertainly, and the old woman sighed.

"I swear, the next person who begins a sentence like that is getting shot and thrown out of an airlock...what is it?" she asked, and Syal smiled slightly at the admiral's irritation.

"Some of our ships are running low on fuel." She said apologetically and Ar'alani looked at her sharply.

"But when all this started, they told us we had enough fuel to do us a couple of months." She said in confusion, and Syal nodded.

"Yes we do, however some of the ships, about four all told, so roughly two and a half thousand people, use a different form of fuel than the other ships, they use a more refined version."

"Can't they function with the fuel we do have?" Ar'alani asked, resisting the urge to groan.

"Apparently not without risking blowing out the engines the next time they jump." She said, pulling her hair behind her ears tiredly.

Ar'alani growled. If they were the ships she suspected they were, she should have the one who brought her that report shot for stupidity. Some ships in the Ascendancy used a more refined form of fuel than those of the military and the day to day operative ships of the region, as they traditionally belonged to the elite of Chiss society, hence were belonging traditionally to actors, retired politicians and the such like.

"Alright. But we don't have any stores of that sort of fuel, so I don't have any clue what we can do." She said irritably, not wanting to give up so many ships and people without a fight.

"Well thats the thing, the _Astral Empress_ has enough raw materials to create a couple of tons of it, but the problem is they need more phillite, which they don't have any of."

Ar'alani mused on this. Phillite was the thing that reduced the viscosity of the base product and allowed the lighter fuel to be made. And truth be told, they would eventually need some for the Clawcraft.

Ar'alani sighed. If she had another military ship, she might be able to risk sending them straight to the Redoubt while she continued trying to find survivors. However, that involved finding more ships, which she needed to keep moving in order to do. And, being no fool, she knew full well the Vong or the Vagaari would eventually happen upon them, and if the only other military ship they had was absent, well there was a greater chance they would lose one of the civilian ships if not more. So what did she do? Gamble with the entire fleet, or gamble with a separate small mission to the Redoubt? Both were of equal importance. Unless...

"Lieutenant Doshi, scan all of the surrounding systems for any phillite deposits. We may have a need of them." She barked, and he got to it.

"You are doing well at this Syal, we wouldn't have been able to keep the civilians functioning if we didn't have you." Ar'alani said warmly, placing her hand on Syal's shoulder.

Syal looked uncertain.

"I just keep thinking about what would have happened if you hadn't brought us all together to help move you to your new home, Soontir, Wynssa and Cem...and with Jagged out in the galaxy proper..." Syal said, her voice breaking and Ar'alani patted her shoulder.

"There there my dear. You have done wonderfully, you've helped the civilians cope with what has happened and have kept the civilian aspect of the fleet ticking over, making sure no one wants for anything. We couldn't have sorted all of this out without your help, you have been invaluable my dear. And all being well, you will have more people to look after soon." She said, and Syal smiled at her.

"Admiral, I have something!" Doshi called and Ar'alani and Syal headed over, Ar'alani's stick tapping at the floor as she did so.

"I have located a phillite deposit quite nearby, but we would have to stay there for a while to get to it, but that isn't all. In the same asteroid run, I'm picking up an Ascendancy signal, diplomatic and military channels." He informed her, and Ar'alani frowned.

Over the course of her career, she had learned that such good luck did not exist. But she couldn't take the chance that it was actually for real, especially if someone needed their help.

"Very well, signal the fleet. We'll drop short and leave our fighter squadrons aside from Viper Squadron to defend the fleet, and we'll take the _Olympian_ and investigate. Prepare for battle!" she barked and the ship went to red alert, scrambling to action stations.

They had had a cushy option on this ship, being part of the defence fleet. But Force help her, she would whip them into shape, especially if they were going to be her flagship. And if retirement wasn't on the cards quite yet, she would keep doing what she made her career doing: fighting Vong and Vagaari.

XX

The _Chaf Envoy_ descended into the asteroid belt, blasts rocking the back of the ship. Vagaari fighters swooped down on them, their lasers chewing away at the increasingly more valuable shields as they entered the rocky hazard. On either side of what could very well be the last government ship in the Ascendancy, two _Splendour_ class corvettes pumped maser fire at the attacking ships. High above the belt was the Vagaari frigate that had launched them, a sinister looking red claw cutting through space and occasionally shooting laser fire down on them. While that wasn't enough to worry them, what did worry them was the fact that several of the asteroids had phillite deposits, and one wrong hit could send the entire run into a supernova and take the three ships with it.

The wrench looking corvettes were doing the best they could, but the two squadrons from the _Paskla_ frigate were just too fast and nimble for the slightly more ungainly ships to take out. Aristocra Formbi knew this, as did his niece Feesa, and the two of them exchanged dark looks as another blast rocked the ship. The leader of one of the Families, he could very well be the highest ranking member of the government left, but unless they could get to the Redoubt, they would never know.

The comm on Formbi's desk chimed.

"Aristocra, the captain of the _Creepstalker_ is suggesting they blow up the asteroids to throw them off." The captain reported, and Feesa shook her head.

"We cant uncle, if we do we risk blowing ourselves up and we'd still have to deal with the frigate." She said sadly, and he squeezed her hand.

"Tell them to take us into the belt, and then...then start to pray." He said.

Because in his heart he knew the truth: they weren't getting away from this.

XX

The two military vessels shot out of hyperspace above the ecliptic of the belt, just in time to see a claw like Vagaari frigate send another couple of rounds down towards the belt. Down below them, two fighter squadrons were chipping away at the shields of two corvettes and a governmental vessel. Time to change that.

"All hands battle stations! Have the _Olympian_ deploy its fighter squadrons. Have two flank the government ship while the others blast apart the attacking vessels. Power to shields and weapons. Remaining fighter squadrons, run interference against that frigate, and all batteries, open fire!" Ar'alani barked, and the battle was on.

The _Fell Defender _lanced forward, its weapons opening up, green flashes from the wings flanking Ar'alani's view as the frigate turned to meet them. Shawnkyr was already on the go, with Viper Squadron and its backup twirling towards the frigate. As predicted, the fighters in the belt were quickly breaking off their attack as the other fighter squadrons dove down at them, their lasers firing at them and ripping the enemy to shreds. The last two squadrons carried on past the dogfight and fell into position, flanking the government shop and leading it out of the asteroid belt while the two corvettes rose out of it of their own accord, weapons firing at the frigate from below.

Ar'alani watched in satisfaction as her forces worked. Despite all that had happened, and despite this ship being a relatively cushy option, they were doing incredibly well as they bore down on the frigate. The frigate itself was now trying to turn away from the Destroyer, knowing it was outgunned. However, long range fire from the _Olympian_ was blocking their escape route, and with the two corvettes blasting away at their engines and a hail of firepower coming from the Destroyer, the outcome of the battle was never in doubt. One last round of firepower from the _Defender_ ruptured open the main column of the frigate and it broke into two halves, the edges aflame. Ar'alani smiled as the fighter squadrons finished off the Vagaari ships. All this, ashamed though she was to admit it, did make her feel slightly young again.

"My compliments to the captains of the _Creepstalker_ and the _Matadorian_. Signal the fighters to return home and let's see who our government official is." She said, hopeful that whoever they had found would be rather useful at helping Syal work out the problems of the civilian fleet.

Doshi grinned. What exactly he was grinning about, she didn't know, but such a grin did not befit finding three ships. Which meant he knew something she didn't.

"Yes Lieutenant?" she asked and he grinned all the wider.

"Admiral, the governmental ship is the _Chaf Envoy_, Aristocra Formbi's flagship."

Ar'alani worked hard, she really did, but she couldn't help a small sign of a sneer escaping onto her usually impassive face. It wasn't exactly a secret that the two of them couldn't stand each other, they had made that clear numerous times over the years. And now, by the will of the Force, the two of them would have to work together.

"Very well Lieutenant. Signal the Aristocra and invite him over so we may discuss what has happened to our fair government." She said, and Doshi nodded, allowing Ar'alani to head off the bridge, Fel falling into step beside her.

"And you find me a bottle of brandy." She ordered, and Fel looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

"You're giving him brandy whilst on duty?" he asked, knowing full well Formbi would make issue of it.

"No, but after he leaves I'm having one. I'm going to need it." She hissed and Fel laughed.

XX

The _Baanu Venxis _was travelling again. Uoni was a Shamed One. A graft had not taken on his arm after it had been cut off during the Battle of Vortex and ever since then, he had been assigned to this worldship, a secret worldship, being one of the Shamed Ones to monitor the dhuryam. They had been gathered in the middle of the night, not long after they had taken Coruscant. They had been forced onto yorik-tremas and when they had stopped moving, they had found themselves on board a new worldship, where they had met their new leader, a bizarre woman, who held herself the same way Shimrra did. The Shamed Ones were automatically put to work, and Uoni was put to work tending the massive dhuryam that monitored the worldship. While it wasn't usual for a worldship to have one, they had always been told that this was a special assignment, even for the Shamed Ones. And their mysterious mistress made that all the more likely.

However, the war had ended years ago, and they had still not been taken to Zonama Sekot for the deliverance, for their redemption. Uoni, who had become something of a leader amongst the slaves had been talking to other slaves and occasionally to warriors, and over the years he had pieced together what was happening: their mistress, in direct violation of the terms of the Sekot Accords, planned to go to war once again. While the rest of their species were trying to make a life on Zonama Sekot, the task force under her command were still intent on defeating the infidels and taking over the galaxy. However, this was against the wishes of Yun-Yuuzhan and Nas Choka. As such, a warrior Uoni had known had asked her about it. And her response had been to use her powers to lift him up into the air, and demonstrate the noise a body makes when it is snapped in half.

Uoni kept his face down, avoided looking at them. His mistress was up to something, and as such, he and all his other fellow Shamed Ones had not been delivered to their salvation on Zonama Sekot. But one day, they would.

No matter what it took.

XX

The _Falcon _was hanging in space. As Lumiya had predicted when she called Collonzas, they were all up early, and she had barely escaped detection by K'Kruhk who had gotten up early in order to make them all pancakes, which even she had to admit were quite good. Alema also seemed to appreciate them and only threw one of them at Leia, who calmly reflected it into the bin. As they all tucked in, K'Kruhk finally brought up the matter which they had all been gathered for: Abeloth.

"You know why we are all together. There is a threat in our galaxy, a threat unlike any like which the galaxy has ever seen. This Abeloth, she lives deep within the Maw, and her powers are growing daily. She has begun to breach her prison, and if we are not careful, she will be set loose on the entire galaxy and will not stop until all life is consumed." He said gravely from his place at the table.

"How did she get out of her prison in the first place?" Han asked curiously.

"Well, we have been led to believe that Centerpoint Station was part of the defence. It created a sort of field around her planet, one that she could not escape. However, as Centerpoint has now been destroyed, that defence is gone, and her powers have been allowed to grow exponentially." He explained.

Luke looked at Mara gravely, then she turned to him, her eyebrow raised.

"Alright, how did you find out about her in the first place? If this thing is as powerful as you say, I'm doubting Palpatine would have let it exist. In case you didn't notice he didn't like sharing power." She commented dryly.

"I can attest to this." Lumiya chimed in.

"Well like he said, Centerpoint must have been preventing him from finding out about her. But that doesn't explain how you knew about her in the first place." Ben pointed out, as he stabbed one of his pancakes.

K'Kruhk nodded dolefully.

"It was during the Vong War. Some of our group were scouting out areas for a bolt hole, in case, as was the case, our sanctum on Myrkyr was attacked. Ferus Olin, my former Padawan Jempa and Kina Ha set off in one of our freighters to find a new place for us to stay for the duration of the Vong War. They investigated the Maw as a potential site, however when they discovered Shelter there, they headed in a different direction. But when they did so, they happened upon a small planet and landed to investigate it. After all, there was nothing to say there couldn't be two secret enclaves within the Maw. So they landed...and that is where they found Abeloth. The others they had with them didn't stand a chance. From what we learned, she was far beyond all powers, all recognition, she was too powerful. They were all destroyed within seconds, and the three Jedi didn't stand a chance against her. They were all mercilessly slaughtered, to the last man, even Jempa. It was thanks to him that we knew about her. He used our bond to send me a vision, and ever since then our group has been working tirelessly to try and figure out how to defeat her. We've studied everything we can on her, but aside from a few inconspicuous mentions, we don't know that much about her. We've happened across old mentions, vague rumours in very old texts, but nothing substantial. And now, we're out of time. She is on the move, and her power is growing. We have been led to believe, primarily due to the reference claiming 'the demon of many faces' that she can assume any number of forms, Jempa was definitely killed by Force lightning, in our vision, Ferus was disintegrated, and the Force was ripped from Kina Ha. We do not know the full extent of her powers, but we do know she is the strongest foe we have ever faced, perhaps the strongest foe the galaxy has ever faced. Hence, why we were so desperate to change the timeline. The Second Galactic Civil War left the galaxy too weak to fend her off. Now, we may have a chance. Not much of one, but a chance." He said, finishing his story, and everyone was silent, and Han and Luke, due to their worry, were both combating indigestion.

"This thing is really that strong?" Alema asked, shivering, and if her damaged mind could grasp the situation, things were indeed bad.

Lumiya was looking at K'Kruhk pensively.

"Adas' holocron, it mentions the demon of the dark, and how people were sacrificed to keep it happy. You don't think-?" she asked worriedly.

Jacen looked at her sharply.

"But, Adas was alive nearly thirty thousand years ago." He protested, then looked at K'Kruhk in alarm, who nodded grimly.

"Yes Jacen, she may very well be that ancient. And that bespeaks an awful lot of power."

The room went silent, as even Lumiya saw the seriousness of what they were now dealing with. Abeloth was a threat beyond all of their comprehension, unlike anything they had ever faced before.

"What if, what if the Maw was created to keep her in?" Ben asked worriedly as the thought occurred to him, and they all looked at him worriedly, and when no one answered, he had to suppress a gulp.

"Perhaps, you may be right. The problem is we don't know. We don't know how old she is, or how powerful, all that we know is that the word 'extremely' applies to both. We do not know how many powers she posses or what they can all do, and all we have is the little tidbits we have found before now. Hence, you see the problem."

Mara got up and began collecting the dishes, her brow furrowed.

"Alright, we get it. She's the big bad. But if she is, what's she after, why now? I mean, fair enough Centerpoint is gone but its been gone for three years, so why move now, and after all Centerpoint was out of commission since the First Corellian Insurrection, so what took her so long?"

"Maybe she didn't know." Han suggested, but Jaina shook her head, looking sceptical.

"Oh, she'll have known, if she's been contained that long, she would be trying to escape as often as possible. My guess, I reckon she was waiting for us to exhaust ourselves, and if the war in the other timeline had happened, now would be the perfect time to act...maybe she was somehow unaffected by the timeline, or maybe she knows something we don't, maybe something big is coming, other than her I mean." Jaina theorised, and as one, the entire room turned and looked at Lumiya suspiciously.

"Oh for heaven's sake, I'm not up to anything!" she protested, which was of course a blatant lie, but they didn't need to know that, and after all, she had learned how to guard her thoughts many years before.

Luke frowned at Mara. The Council, in their last report, had indicated that it was getting harder and harder to gaze into the future. As such, the two of them had tried and, as predicted, it had been very difficult to see the future. That could only mean one thing, that the dark side was growing in the galaxy, and although Luke didn't believe for a moment that it had nothing to do with Lumiya, it was too great a darkness and it was growing too quickly to just be her. Something strange was going on, and the dark side was growing in strength by the day. Soon now they would face the same problem Yoda's generation had faced: being totally unable to use the Force to divine the future.

"Perhaps. The problem is we do not know. We must know more before we confront Abeloth, else I fear we shall go to our doom." K'Kruhk said.

Han looked at him sceptically.

"What, you reckon we should hit Obroa-Skai and look in the library?" he asked, but the Whiphid shook his head.

"No, we have already looked there. But there are...things that may be more ancient than the library's records, things that may help us understand our foe more." K'Kruhk said elusively, and Jacen looked at him strangely, then the look on his face turned into a glare.

"That's why you wanted Lumiya to come along isn't it? Because she might know where there are Sith holocrons that might mention Abeloth." Jacen hissed, and both Lumiya and Alema looked at the Jedi in surprise.

"Wait, you actually wanted her to bring holocrons aboard? Are you insane? Considering what happened in the other timeline!" Han yelled, gesturing at Jacen and Mara, both of whom were glaring daggers at K'Kruhk. He looked down ashamedly, refusing to meet their eyes.

"And more to the point, why did you jump in with Luke before I came aboard if you actually wanted me to bring holocrons?" Lumiya demanded irritably.

K'Kruhk sighed and looked at them all.

"I didn't think we needed them at first. But T'ra contacted me and told me that all of the group that went to confront Abeloth were killed, and there were over a dozen Jedi in this group. She told me that if we were to prevail, then we needed to know more. We've already researched as many Jedi holocrons as we had, and even the two Sith ones we have, but the ones we had were too far away, we need more ancient Sith holocrons if we are to find out anything else. As such, that was one of the reasons I wanted Lumiya along, because if there was any way of knowing where such ones are, she would." He said, and they relented, a little, but they did relent.

"I can ask Tionne to look for any information in our Sith holocrons, see if she can see anything." Luke said, but Mara frowned.

"Won't that mean telling her what shes actually looking for? I thought we decided to keep all this quiet for a little bit longer. People tend to panic when we tell them that there's something out there that can destroy the entire galaxy." She pointed out.

Luke nodded, conceding the point.

"True. But Tionne can keep a secret, we'll just tell her to look for stuff on dark side nexuses and other stuff, we don't actually have to tell her. We'll tell them all when we get back to Coruscant." He said, and Mara nodded, though she looked unconvinced.

"What Sith holocrons do you have?" Lumiya asked curiously, and Jaina could see a flicker of greed in her eyes as she asked.

"A few. We've got the Telos holocron, and the Dark holocron, that was found a few months ago by Octa Ramis. We've got some dude called Darth Ramage's holocron as well, and another one but I can't remember who, Darth Ruin rings a bell." Luke said, but then regretted it as he saw the eager expression on Lumiya's face, and the look of envy on that of Alema. While she may not be a Sith, it was clear that such artefacts had a clear calling for her.

"Who do you have Lumiya?" K'Kruhk asked curiously.

"I've got five. Darth Phobos, she might be helpful to try and understand some of Abeloth's powers, because she was said to be able to cast illusions. I have Adas, as I said, and he does hold some reference to her so we can look at him. I've also got Darth Cognus, but I don't know if she'll be of any use, unless you lot want to understand the Rule of Two or why a Sith apprentice doesn't abandon their master. I've got Tulak Hord, one of the ancient Sith, so he might have something on her and I also have Darth Andeddu, who mentions a large collection of books and articles he had collected, a sort of library, and he was around just after the Hundred Year Darkness, he might also be quite good to look at." She said, and everyone else exchanged concerned looks. Lumiya had a little too much Sith knowledge with her for any of their liking, and Luke saw Jacen suppress a shudder.

"Very well. Though I do not like this, or the fact that you have so many holocrons with you and that we're intending to get more, it is I'm afraid a necessary evil. Where do you reckon we should start?" he asked, and Lumiya considered.

"Well, if we went to Prakith and found Andeddu's library, we might be able to use that, and unlike the holocrons, which I'm assuming the kids won't be allowed near, books and scrolls can be looked at by everyone. That could be our best bet. And if not, well I forgot to pack a book and I could do with some bedtime reading." She said mysteriously, and Luke and Mara both tensed.

K'Kruhk looked at Luke, who got a look from his wife and reluctantly nodded.

"Alright, we'll head to Prakith. But for the record, I have a bad feeling about this." Han said, and headed to the cockpit, with Leia following him, her Force presence worried.

As everyone headed off to do their own thing, Jacen glowering at K'Kruhk as he did so, Lumiya smiled. This was perfect. Not only would it enable her to carry on with her plan, and continue to annoy her shipmates, it also meant that she would be able to do something she had always intended to do and collect more Sith knowledge, which would prove incredibly useful for what was to come. And while they didn't know much about Abeloth now, there was every chance they would soon know a lot more.

Yes, everything was going according to plan.

XX

They were all afraid. It wasn't much yet, but the story K'Kruhk had told them of Abeloth's powers had frightened them all. And it was that fear that Lumiya now intended to use against them as her plan began in earnest.

They had all gotten to work, studying the holocrons or trying to figure out stuff about Abeloth from the things K'Kruhk had brought. And it was looking through these things that Lumiya had Ben to herself, and so she began the first of moves in what she knew would prove to be a very long game of dejarik.

"Scared Ben?" she asked with a slight smile, and he gave her a mock glower.

"Scared of something no one has any clue on how to defeat? You bet I am, aren't you?" he asked curiously, as he picked up one of K'Kruhk's books and looked at it appraisingly.

"Slightly. But then, I don't have as much to worry about as you do." She pointed out, thankful for her veil, as it had been years since she had done this sort of thing.

Ben rolled his eyes.

"We won't let anything happen to you Lumiya, if only because you annoy dad and Uncle Han!" he said brightly, and Lumiya smiled.

"That isn't what I meant. What I meant was the fact that you will have your family to consider. You are, after all the youngest out of all of them." She pointed out casually, and Ben looked at her in confusion.

"What has that got to do with anything?" he demanded, looking grumpy as he had some vague idea of where this was going.

"Well you _are_ the baby in the family. Which means all of them will want to protect you, even when it could mean that they are risking themselves. You saw what your mother did on Tatooine. And Jacen and your father won't want anything to happen to you either. All I'm saying..." she said simply, but Ben cut her off, his green eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"I can take care of myself, I don't need them to look after me." He said in a stroppy voice, like a typical teenager.

But, despite saying that, a horrible little bit of his heart knew that she might have a point. His mother had nearly died on Tatooine in an attempt to protect him. He knew full well that his father and Jacen would also probably do the same thing. He knew that meant that they loved him, but after all he was sixteen, he was able to take care of himself. But, what if she was right? They would risk themselves for him, and then it would be his fault if they died, and there would be nothing he would be able to do about it. He would get the people he loved most in the entire galaxy hurt, and he didn't want that. But how could he prove to them that they didn't need to protect him, and that he would be alright? He didn't want to be a liability, and he certainly didn't want to be responsible for getting them hurt. He didn't even want to get Lumiya and Alema hurt, despite Lumiya being a Sith and Alema being as nutty as a squirrel's winter stockpile.

"Your family only wants to protect you Ben, its only natural." Lumiya purred, knowing she was winning.

"I've had enough of this." Ben said angrily, picking up one of the books and stomping to his bunk to read it, and Lumiya smiled, triumph filling her as he walked off.

"Did he buy it?" Alema asked, making Lumiya jump in fright as the nutter stuck her head around the corner.

"Yes, but keep your voice down you asylum reject! You'll give the game away!" she hissed angrily, and Alema hung her head, but there was still a big grin on her face as she skipped into the room.

"Will it work?" she asked excitedly, and Lumiya rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Yes, you barmy fruit bat, of course it will work, that's why I'm doing it and not you, to make sure it will work. It's poetic really. This is the same way Darth Sidious got his grandfather to fall to the dark side. And now...now the Skywalker family history will come full circle. And I will have a new apprentice, one far younger and more powerful than I." Lumiya said, her eyes flashing maliciously.

XX

The _Dark Emissary_ dropped out of hyperspace, far away from the civilised areas of the galaxy, in a place that was considered far away from the Unknown Regions. Hence why she was here, and now things could truly begin.

As her ship cut through the stellar mists that separated the Ssi-Ruuk star cluster off from the rest of the galaxy, Vongerella mused on her plan. As soon as this was done, all would soon be in readiness. Ship wombs had been created in various locations across the Ascendancy and were even now beginning to construct the ships that would eventually house Vong warriors once more, and she would set them loose across the galaxy, and return the Vong and the Sith to dominance in one swift stroke.

There was a reason she was moving now. This was the time when those on Zonama Sekot would still rather return to conflict rather than live out their days in peace, and she was running out of time, hence why she had moved now. Also, with Lumiya and Krayt both plotting, and this mysterious threat that Abeloth presented, the galaxy would soon be looking everywhere but at her. And that would give her the anonymity she needed, the one that would allow her to exact her revenge.

But...she couldn't shake the feeling that she should watch those under her control. The Shamed Ones were restless. Ever since the war had ended, they had been continually pestering her, demanding to know when they would be able to go to Zonama Sekot with their kin. Vongerella had no intention of allowing them to go there, in fact after she had taken the warriors and shapers off of the living planet, she intended to destroy it, as Shimrra should have done in the first place. However, while slaves and by and large dumb, there were a few who knew that they had attacked the Chiss, and would start spreading word that they were breaking the treaty, and even worse disobeying Yun-Yuuzhan. They bore watching.

The ship entered the space of Lwhekk, the capital of the Ssi-Ruuk. During the Vong War, Shimrra and Nas Choka had manipulated the reptilian species with the warrior E'thinaa. He had worked with the Keeramak, a religious idol of the Ssi-Ruuk, to try and bring down Bakura once more. However, when the slave species of the P'w'eck had revolted and killed the Keeramak, all had been derailed. Leaving a power vacuum, the leader of the first attack on Bakura, Ivpikkis, had rallied the disgraced military leaders, had killed the Shreeftut, Conclave and the Elders, the two groups that governed the Imperium, and had installed a military dictatorship, crushing the P'w'eck uprising and regaining control of Ssi-Ruuk society.

Ever since then, with a military government ruling the entire star cluster, they had been building up their power for years, and were prepared to strike. And now, Vongerella had to convince them to act with her.

The space around Lwhekk itself was filled with _Shree_ cruisers, the skull like ships that the Ssi-Ruuk used as their mainstay weapons of choice. Sending out messages of truce, the ship was allowed to approach, though she knew full well that the lizards had her in their sights, and that at least some knew of the Vong involvement in the collapse of their last offensive. However, ignoring this, she summoned her warriors and took a yorik-trema to the planet.

Lwhekk was a jungle world, with deep vibrant colours of green jutting up everywhere. However, there were aspects of yellows and smoke, citing volcanoes and steam vents, which pleased her. It was quite like the world Belkadan was now actually, humid and warm at the same time, but also hardy in its own way.

The cities were spire like structures, as if they were made of swirls of candy, all deep reds and blues. Her ship hurtled on downwards, travelling through the graceful, twisted spires of the capital city and approaching the Cree'n'aak Palace, the seat of government for the Ssi-Ruuk and former residence of the Shreeftut and now the home of Ivpikkis and the other members of his military dictat. Vongerella had to admit that they had done well to rebuild their cities after a Chiss offensive, led by Admiral Ar'alani, had flattened their society forty years before.

Walking boldly from her ship, flanked by two of her warriors, she came to the landing pad. She saw no red lizards there, meaning that she was to be taken to the Admiral. A blue Ssi-Ruu stepped forward and inclined his head slightly, one of the politicians caste.

"We welcome you to our humble world. Though we do not know your reason here, we hope your presence here will be fruitful for all." He said with his forked tongue.

"Thank you. Take me to your leader. And I don't care that it's a cliché." She said, earning her a siss of amusement from a few green lizards, the worker caste, who had come to observe her arrival.

Their guide was silent as he led them through the halls, passing Ssi-Ruu of all colours as they travelled. It was rather like travelling through a system of caves. The walls were like natural stone, but had been whittled to ensure stripes, representing each caste, ran along it, with the red at the top. Vongerella mused that before the takeover, blue had probably been the top stripe. The corridors were dark, yet somehow they also seemed to be well lit, as lights on the floor lit the way, but nothing came from above.

Eventually they came to a pure white staircase, and Vongerella was pleased that her warriors were Vong. Anyone else would have squirmed. The stairs up to the throne room had been ripped up fairly recently, and now they were a bright dazzling white...having once been bone, probably the bones of the Conclave, Elders and anyone else the Admiral had had executed.

They entered the throne room, a vast, cavernous affair, with a red Imperium emblem embossed on the floor. Facing the door was a semi circular table, and at the centre of this table was Ivpikkis. A hero, he had redeemed himself for the defeat at Bakura all those years ago by managing to actually force off Ar'alani and her fleet a few months later, sparing Lwhekk from total destruction. Since then he had been a hero, and his actions in bringing order to the disturbed society had earned him a place in the immortality of history.

"Greetings Ivpikkis, saviour of the Ssi-Ruuk." She said, bowing respectfully and waiting for him to beckon her forward, which he did a few seconds later.

"You endanger us all Vong. If anyone were to see your ship arrive who did not belong here, you would bring death to us all." He growled, and Vongerella smiled.

"Technically, it would be your fault Admiral. You allowed me to approach on terms of truce. Your curiosity got the better of you." She pointed out, and his yellow eyes narrowed as he surveyed her.

"Well I must agree, I am curious to what a defeated species is doing with a warship they are not allowed to have, and even more curious to know why you are here." He said, looking at her suspiciously.

Vongerella smiled.

"My dear Admiral, I am here, to propose, a pairing." She said, and the lizard looked at her curiously.

"An alliance? We allied with your kind once before..."

"And look how beneficial it was in the long run Admiral, you are now the ruler of the entire Imperium. It can't have been all bad." She reasoned, and Ivpikkis smiled slightly, his fangs showing.

"True. What is this pairing you propose?" he asked, wishing to know why she would risk travelling all this way, and certain death, just to put something to him.

Vongerella clasped her hands behind her back.

"The galaxy is on the edge of a knife. The Galactic Alliance is distracted, its vision is drawn elsewhere. Slavery and piracy are keeping their gaze averted from the true threats. Our hated enemy, the Jedi," she said, and a Ssi-Ruu leered at her, black in colour, one of the assassins.

"You wear the weapon of the hated Jedi." He sneered, and it took all of Vongerella's control not to crush him with the Force.

"I am not a Jedi. I am a Dark Lord of the Sith!" she spat furiously, and the assassin backed off, making the dictat laugh.

"Silence warrior." One of the generals snapped, eager to hear what she had to say.

"As I was saying, the Jedi are distracted. Their youth are going mad, and as such, the galaxy is looking elsewhere. And that isn't the best news." She said triumphantly, as she could feel excitement stirring among the members.

"It isn't? Our enemies distracted, the Jedi distracted, the Empire and Hapans too far away, what could be better?" a yellow scientist lizard called, and Vongerella smiled.

"The Ascendancy is in ruins." She said, and an almighty clamouring broke out as everyone started talking at once.

There was then a loud, clicking bray and they all looked to Ivpikkis as he settled back into his chair.

"Well, that certainly is game changing news. But Vong detest technology. Why would you wish to work with us?" he sneered, and Vongerella smiled winningly.

In all reality, given a choice, she would rather not work with them. But, they were necessary for her plan to succeed, and they were useful warriors. And with this side of the galaxy distracted by a resurgent Ssi-Ruuk threat, and the Chiss defeated and kept under control by the Vagaari, it meant that she could rebuild her war machine that much quicker and then set the Vong loose on the galaxy once again. But, he did have a point, and she knew that their reliance on technology would sour the warriors and the rest of her forces to working with them, so perhaps it was good that by and large it would only be her who dealt with them.

"Admiral, I am not above putting aside a few little niggles for the sake of defeating our enemies. Isn't the chance to destroy the Alliance greater than our respective cultural beliefs?" she asked, and the braying started again, but it was different this time, it was the others in the room, excitement was flooding the Force...as was bloodlust.

This was a nation spoiling for a war. Ivpikkis studied the Vong woman. While his advisers, scientists, religious mystics and others had been telling him for ages that a war was needed in order to cement the power of his regime (not that there were many left who could challenge it), he wasn't so sure. Certainly, the Imperium was ready for war. There were hundreds of _Shree_ cruisers across the Imperium, and all of them could go at a moment's notice. And while he didn't doubt that the galaxy was ripe for an attack, or that the Ascendancy was defeated, he just had a bad feeling about her. However, she had known what she was doing. She had convinced everyone else, and if he refused, he would lose power, if not his life. But, he still couldn't shake the feeling...the feeling that she didn't really want to ally with them, and that she was merely using them for her own ends. He would have to watch her.

"Very well my lady, come with me to my quarters...and we shall discuss our new alliance." He said, and the room broke into victorious cheering.

And Vongerella, facing him, smiled triumphantly, but Ivpikkis knew that this was a triumph only for her and not for him.

XX

It was a small, desolate patch of ground. Far removed from the centre of government, in the very outback of Lwhekk, was a small religious group. When Ivpikkis had assumed control of the government, many of the golden scaled religious sect had been forced out, and many more had followed when it became clear exactly what the aged old Admiral was up to, and they had soon been joined by yellow, green and brown skins. Now, this small colony held around a thousand Ssi-Ruuk, and around the same number of P'w'eck, all of them hidden by virtue of the fact that none of their buildings were over two stories high and hence couldn't be seen in a flyover.

It was a good thing too. If Ivpikkis knew all of this lot were here, he wouldn't hesitate to blast them off the face of the planet. And even better for the fact that they were hidden were the three ships they had created in order to escape should the time come. And now, G'nikoh felt that that time was drawing closer all the time.

He had been a member of the Conclave, and he had been one of the two to escape. However, during the P'w'eck revolt, a blast had gone off, taking the other out and scarring his flank and blowing off his tail. Despite that, he was now the leader of this colony, and feared that they would soon have to abandon their homeworld. Ivpikkis had just allied with a Yuuzhan Vong Sith Lord, two of the things the Alliance hated most. According to his agent, they had already agreed to attack Bakura, once again risking all to try and take that paltry world. And now the gears of war were moving. The galaxy was changing, and the Vong woman was using them to fight her battles for her. Ivpikkis knew this, but he felt his hands were tied, and he was going to make the most of that situation. G'nikoh knew they were in trouble. War with the outside galaxy never ended well, and when the Vong were involved, things were even worse. Defeats they could handle, but the total revolution of society was a little hard to cope with twice in the same millennium. But the point was, before the revolt, the Conclave had decreed that there would be no more wars with the Alliance. And now, that was being disputed. It was time to leave.

Perhaps, if war with Bakura was in the offing, they could leave the planet and live in peace. Or, if that is what it took to stop war, do something even more drastic.

"Start moving the supplies into the ships, and begin dismantling the shelters. As soon as Ivpikkis leaves, we too take to the skies. And we shall see what the rest of the galaxy thinks of us." He said wearily, hoping that the course of action he was contemplating would never come true as a storm rolled in above him, and the heavens opened.

**Well hello again!**

**It's been some time but here is the latest chapter of Fate of the Force. And I know, the main plot as in our heroes vs Abeloth didnt do much in this chapter, but next time they return in full force as does an elusive Sith Lord...**

**The Ascendancy has been smashed but Aralani lives, there is hope yet. But, Vongerella has allied with both the Vagaari and the Ssi-Ruuk, which cant mean anything good as we know. What will this mean? **

**Another Jedi in the head basket, the pirates and slavers uniting, a return of the Wraiths, slavery on the decline, the galaxy is heating up! Events are on the move, and to top it all of the mysterious Cronal has returned. Shouldnt he be dead by now? All shall be revealed in the fullness of time! But lets just say that there isnt anything the Dark Lady of the Sith cannot turn to her advantage...**

**So until next time, please read and review!**


	11. Episode II: Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, despite my spending spree earlier**

Fate of the Force

The Star Destroyer _Singularity _drifted through space, returning from its long exile, drifting around the edges of the galaxy. It had been many years since the black clad flagship of Cronal, the former Emperor's Hand and the mastermind behind the catastrophic Battle of Mindor nearly forty years previous had been seen in the mainstream galaxy. Now it had mysteriously returned, under a new master...or at least so it seemed.

Cronal watched with tired eyes as the ship, the mighty ship that he had been given so many years ago by the Emperor drifted back towards the galaxy. His crew was young, fit and able, and they were eager to restore his rule to the galaxy, the rule of the Dark. Descended from the Sorcerers of Rhand, his belief would soon be imposed upon the galaxy. Albeit through an unsuspecting method.

His plan was nearly ready, they were poised. The players in question were ready, one ripe to fall, and the other ready to rise into the void that would be left open by the fall of the other. However, that time was not yet. Firstly, he had to draw the attention of the Galactic Alliance so that they didn't figure out what was about to start going on in their own backyard. And for that, he had been plotting for years. An old debt was about to be repaid. Fenn Shysa and his spawn would pay for their interference in the Mindor affair. And it would draw the Alliance's attention, tie them up in yet another area and with any luck it would also tie up the false Jedi, the ones who disobeyed the way of the Dark. And with everything in the galaxy heating up to boiling point it would just be one more thing to further weaken the Alliance, in a galaxy that was increasingly getting harder and harder to control. But for now, he had his own part to play, in order to ensure his plans were carried out to the letter.

Heading to his quarters on his mechno-chair, a gift from the Emperor, when he entered he set up the call to the world of Concord Dawn, in the Mandalorian Sector. It was time to put his plan into motion. The man on the other end of the holo was dressed from head to toe in armour, just like a usual Mandalorian. However, several distinctions marked this man from the usual run of the will Mandalorians who followed Boba Fett's rule on Mandalore. Their armour was the same construction as a Mandalorian set, however that was as far as the similarities lasted. This armour was in a darker hue, deep green or black. The capes they wore were ragged and shredded, and their armour wasn't nearly as dented as a Mandos would be. Unlike the Mandos, the emblem on their shoulder was not the mythosaur head, but was instead a jai'galaar, a avian predator. The helmet was also different, also being in black, with the t-shaped visor having a thicker border. And there were also two small horns protruding from the top of the visor.

Death Watch had returned to the galaxy.

Cronal had contacted them a few years before, when he had first heard that they were beginning to stir up the old hatred and rally against the rule of Mandalore. Promising them his help, he had contacted the leader and had advised him to wait before embarking on a conflict with the Mandalore, who many people were disillusioned with it had to be said, as he seemed to have little interest in leading his people. He had been slowly channelling funds to them, funds accessible to the Emperor's Hand. While he knew that at least two of his most deadly opposite numbers, Mara Jade Skywalker and Lumiya, were still out there, he had long ago siphoned off significant funds which he had been funnelling to his two projects for years. And now, the time was right for Death Watch to make its move.

The leader's name was Belok Rhal. The new leader of the Death Watch, with a personal grievance against the Mandalore. And he was his pawn, his tool to use in the furthering of the cause of the Dark. He was one of Fett's advisors, but he was known for his brutality, and with Fett getting older and his injuries chipping away at him as he went on, Rhal's position was increasingly under threat from Fett's granddaughter, Mirta Gev and her husband, Ghes Orade. Mirta, who Fett was shaping to become Mandalore after he was gone, was emerging as a strong leader for the Mandalorians, and Cronal knew full well that she would not tolerate Rhal to live once she took over. And what was more, her husband detested Rhal and had made it clear that as soon as his wife or his grandfather-in-law gave the go-ahead, he would stick a blaster bolt right between Rhal's eyes. As such, he would be a most useful ally in the times to come, due to his knowledge of his foes and of the Mandalorian infrastructure. Especially after Cronal performed the next part of the plan.

"Greetings Rhal. I trust your preparation are complete?" he asked, his voice distorted and the leader of the Death Watch inclined his head, and from several sectors away Cronal could feel the ferocity of anger blazing through the man. Provided his anger controlled him well, then he would be satisfied.

Rhal nodded.

"My agents are well placed, all around the sector. I will contact you when it is time your move. That will distract Fett and weaken the economy both here and in surrounding areas, getting more of what you want, and more of what I want. We're ready to go, just give us the word." He said, and Cronal smiled from behind the holo.

"It will take us thirty six to forty hours to get to the Roche system. I trust you will be ready to move by then?" Cronal asked, and Rhal inclined his head.

"We'll be more than ready. We've been ready to go for ages. Remember dark sider, play me false and die." Rhal threatened, and Cronal narrowed his eyes at his impudence.

"I would say the same to you Rhal. Do not fail me." He sneered and cut the link.

The board was set. The way of the Dark would soon take over the Mandalorian sector, and Fett would struggle to fend off the Death Watch, which were a lot more numerous than he could ever suspect they would be. The civil war would then spread, igniting similar passions across the galaxy and straining the Alliance all the further, the foundations of which were already beginning to crumble. And with his other plan in place, a shadow empire, corrupting all it touched, spouting the way of the Dark, and serving the Dark, would become the way of things in the galaxy. But first, he had to ensure Fett didn't receive any help from his Verpine friends.

"Captain, set a course for the Roche system, and prepare all forces for battle." He ordered into the comm.

Attacking with a Star Destroyer would have an extra benefit. Along with causing all sorts of disruption for Alliance supply lines and military re-supply problems (which as things got worse, which he could feel coming with the rising power of the Dark), it would weaken Mandalore's position as Fett would be unable to help his allies and vice versa, meaning Fett would struggle against the coming wave of Death Watch attacks, especially when Rhal and his men acted in Keldabe. But the best benefit was the fact that by using an ISD, it would ignite tensions between the Alliance and the Empire, weakening both governments and further eroding Pellaeon's position. All would serve the will of the Dark.

Cronal smiled as his ship shot to lightspeed.

XX

Malinza smiled at her companion as he opened up the basket containing their picnic. She was the daughter of Gaeriel Captison and Pter Thanas, two players in the first Battle of Bakura, which had been one of their contacts between the civilised galaxy and the Ssi-Ruuk. Following the battle, Malinza's mother had married her father, but the two of them had been taken from her at far too young an age, with her father dying of Knowt's Disease when she was three, and her mother dying a few years later during the First Corellian Insurrection. Ever since then, she had been a passionate advocate for Bakuran independence from the galactic government, creating the Freedom Movement, which had been instrumental at forcing off the Ssi-Ruuk the last time they had invaded in the Vong War. Since then however, she had reduced her campaigns and grown into a beautiful young woman, with long black hair with crimson streaks running through it, and two mismatched eyes, one green and one grey. Becoming a rather prominent hero during the Vong War had given her access to the Bakuran Senate, just like her mother, and she had amassed quite a lot of support and she was in the running to become the new Prime Minister at the next election.

The man across from her was called Vyram, another former member of Freedom. The two of them had been close during the fight with the Ssi-Ruuk, and ever since then they had become closer. He was a handsome man, with long black bangs that fell into his bright green eyes. Since the war, he had gone on to revamping the defence computers, utilising his slicing skills in order to better improve Bakura's defences. Ever since the conclusion of the conflict, they had been seeing each other on and off, and this time the two of them were determined to make it work.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was bright in the sky as they tucked into their picnic. Malinza could barely see the reporters approaching, and she rolled her eyes. The press were a nuisance. So what, she and Vyram were dating. It was hardly news worthy.

"Just ignore them." He advised, squeezing her hand as he passed her some of the food packets he had brought.

"I just wish they'd go and do something useful, like, you know, expose corruption from the opposition or something." She said with a wicked smile and Vyram grinned.

"Not that you're seeking to use them for your own purposes." He said teasingly, and she smiled.

"Certainly not. You on the other hand..." she said, smiling alluringly, and she leaned forward to kiss him.

XX

The battleship _Xikree_, the mammoth flagship of Admiral Ivpikkis, was edging slowly towards Bakura. The defence fleet belonging to the planet, intended to protect the planet should the Ssi-Ruuk return, was floating in the space around the planet, leering at any freighter close enough to give them cause for concern. Ivpikkis tasted the air, feeling satisfied. Despite his reservations about working with the Vong witch, he had to admit he was enjoying the feeling of stalking his prey. Soon now, he would be the conqueror again. However, despite his eagerness he couldn't shake the feeling of trepidation from working with Vongerella.

"Prepare all warriors for battle. It is time we return to that which is rightfully ours." He said, his tongue fluttering as his task force moved in towards the planet.

XX

They broke apart and just as Vyram was about to say something, there was a massive explosion. Looking up to the sky, they saw the source of the noise, and Vyram seized her hand and pulled her under the cover of trees as fiery shards of debris fell from orbit.

"What the hell is going on? Did something collide on orbit?" she asked breathlessly as more debris rained down.

Vyram shook his head, and then his eyes widened in alarm.

"No...it's an invasion!"

Malinza looked up in panic, and saw what he had seen. Dozens, if not hundreds of assault ships were descending upon Bakura. The Ssi-Ruuk had returned to the planet.

The screams began as fires, caused by the fiery debris, began to spring up across the city. Vyram grabbed her hand and the two dashed through the trees, and emerged into a scene of chaos. Salis'Daar was in an uproar. Shuttles were landing left right and centre, disgorging dozens of red skinned Ssi-Ruuk warriors, clad in armour and wielding their paddle beamers, sending shots into the panicking people, cutting people down as they tried to flee from the invaders. Vyram led Malinza down an alleyway, wincing as a shot blew some shrapnel over their heads.

"Where are we going?" she asked as smoke billowed from a shattered window as they went past.

"We need to get you out of here." He said, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at her.

"The war ministry, they'll be trying to take the building. If we can get there..." she said, but he shook his head, wincing as a starfighter crashed down a street away, sending debris and flames up into the air. Howls and screams erupted through the city as the Ssi-Ruuk advanced through the capital, blaster bolts and paddle beamer strikes causing chaos.

"The war ministry has probably already been hit. All we can do is hope that the spaceport is still there so we can get you offplanet!" he said urgently, but she pulled back on his arm.

"Vyram, no! I am not running! We'll fight like we did last time!" she said fiercely.

Vyram looked into her eyes, and she saw the fear and panic that was in them, the desire to protect her...and the love he felt for her.

"Honey, this isn't like last time. The Ssi-Ruuk have ambushed us, and I'm willing to bet they have something nasty up their sleeve. We need to get you out of here, and I really don't want to imagine you getting enteched! Now come on!" he ordered, and reluctantly she followed him through the city streets, avoiding a brawl between Ssi-Ruuk warriors and outnumbered policemen who were trying to protect the civilians as they fled in all directions. One warrior saw the two of them and he leapt towards them his paddle beamer rising to fire at them...then a shot punctured the middle of his snout, as Malinza revealed a hold-out blaster that she had carried with her since the last invasion.

"Good shot." Vyram breathed as they continued to run.

"Thanks. Old habits die hard I suppose..." she murmured as they headed for the spaceport, joining several dozen terrified civilians as they rushed to the building that the hoped would be their salvation.

What was the state of Bakura? Had the other cities fallen? Was the fleet still intact? What was happening? And why were they back? Why attack now when everything was actually going well in the galaxy?

They entered into the spaceport, with Vyram cutting a path through the crowds, never letting go of Malinza as he pushed through. Malinza looked up and went pale, as she saw a squadron of Ssi-Ruuk ships descending from orbit, bound right for the spaceport.

"Vyram!" she yelled in panic.

Vyram saw the descending ships, and the last of the ships with an open ramp was about to raise its landing ramp and depart. With a jolt, he dragged her forward, making Malinza stumble and the next thing she knew she was flying through the air, into the arms of the passengers inside the ship.

Then she realised what he had done.

"Vyram, no!" she bellowed as the ramp closed and the ship shot spacewards.

As the freighter hurtled spacewards, she saw the Ssi-Ruuk battle fighters descend on the spaceport, and the next second, the entire building, along with whatever ships had remained, was consumed by a massive ball of fire.

"No..." she whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she realised that Vyram was gone.

Up in orbit, the situation was no better. Most of the defence force had been taken out in the initial stages of the ambush, so much so that only four ships remained, and they were trying their hardest to shepherd the civilian transports to safety while over a dozen _Shree_ class cruisers fired at them from all directions. Barging her way to the bridge, and wiping her eyes as she did so, she entered the cockpit, and saw dozens of transports limping to the two remaining Bakuran Destroyers, old models that had seen service during the First Corellian Insurrection, the _Pride of Selonia_, a Lancer class frigate that had been gifted to Bakura following the end of the Vong War, and her father's old command, a Carrack Cruiser called the _Dominant_.

"Captain, can you get me through to the _Dominant_?" she asked, and the man shrugged and nodded, making the connection.

"_Dominant_, this is Senator Thanas. Are you the acting command ship?" she asked, wincing as another civilian ship was blown apart by a well placed round from an enemy cruiser.

"Yes Senator, we are. Do you have any suggestions? We tried to send a message to any Alliance forces in the area, but the Fluties took our long range comms out first. We're losing civilians, and we are also losing ground. We can't hold here."

Malinza fought down a fresh wave of grief as yet another transport detonated. Destroyed in a flash, just like Vyram. Steeling herself, she breathed out then spoke into the comm.

"Alright Commander. Set a course for the edge of the system. While we still live, we have a chance, but not here. Get us out of here, and we can strike back at a later date." She said, and she heard a click of acknowledgement.

All four of the Bakuran ships opened up with all of their weapons, making the fighters and cruisers break off their pursuit. A temporary solution, the civilian ships hustled into the centre of the quarter of military ships and with a last longing look at Bakura, Malinza sobbed as they made a break in the Fluties forces, and jumped to safety.

XX

Vyram winced as the shockwave of the explosion hit him and the ones who had run in the same direction as he had. Tumbling along the ground, he watched in satisfaction as Malinza's ship got out of the spaceport, as the main area was turned to slag by the Flutie bombers.

"That was a very brave thing you just did." A grizzled freighter pilot said as he helped him to his feet.

"Um, thanks." Vyram said as the other five men clustered around him, looking nervously over their shoulders as screams and flames continued to rise into the air.

"Well son, you seem to have a decent head on your shoulders, so what say you we get out of here before those damned lizards come back, and then we can see about what we're going to do next." The man said, and Vyram grinned as he pulled a vibrodagger out of his boot. Like Malinza, old habits died hard with him too.

"Good idea. Come on, I have an idea where we can find some friends. Follow me." He said with a predatory grin, and the group ran after him as they left the flaming ruins behind.

XX

Ivpikkis looked at his prize. Three dead Bakuran destroyers floated in space around his forces, and along with that were a couple more IPV Patrol Craft hulks too, and the hulk of the defence force's escort carrier, which they had taken out in the first stage of the battle. All had gone exactly as planned, and now, forty years later than intended, Bakura was finally his. He now ruled Bakura.

He still didn't trust that Vong Sith. But...this time the Ssi-Ruuk would triumph.

XX

Keldabe was quiet. And what was more, so was her grandfather. Ever since she had had to kill Aurra Sing, he had been in a strange mood. They were sitting in the Oyu'baat tapcafe, with Fett looking at his ale contemplatively. Her husband, Ghes, reckoned that the Mandalore was finally beginning to realise his age, and along with that, that he had few links to his past left. And there was also the stress of being Mandalore. While initially reluctant to do the job after the death of Fenn Shysa, he had stepped up recently, especially when a large deposit of beskar had been discovered. Revitalising the economy, he had entered into an agreement with the Verpine, and along with that had started to make the Mandalorians a defensive force again, not building enough ships to alarm the Alliance, but still, increasing their arms, so that perhaps, one day, if the situation demanded, they could again strike out at the galaxy.

"What's up Ba'buir?" she asked kindly, and he sighed, shaking his head. If there was a man who was impossible to reach, that man was Boba Fett.

"Nothing, Mirt'ika. Just feeling old." He said gruffly, then looked up as he saw Goran Beviin, who was by all accounts his second in command, enter the cafe.

Beviin sat down, pulled off his helmet and signalled for an ale. Mirta didn't know him as well as Fett did, but she could tell that the man had news for her grandfather, and that it wasn't good.

"Alright Beviin, don't draw it out, what's up?" Fett asked, sipping his ale.

"Rhal has disappeared." He said grimly.

Mirta had to suppress a smile. She was probably getting her hopes up, but the idea of Rhal lying in a ditch somewhere with a blaster hole through his head appealed to her greatly. Ah well, she could dream.

"He's probably just gone off somewhere." Fett said dismissively, not really concerned.

Although he knew Mirta, Ghes and Beviin hated Rhal with a passion, Fett actually didn't mind him. Yeah he was brutal and some would say evil, but despite that he was actually quite a good lieutenant and could be trusted to deal with various problems to do with law enforcement.

"Yeah well, disappearing deputies aside, we have worse problems." He said eerily, and leaned in close, Fett looking concerned as he and Mirta followed suit.

"There's rumours going around...that Death Watch is on the move."

Fett abruptly slammed his fist into the table, looking furious.

"Death Watch? They're meant to be extinct!" he hissed angrily, and Mirta could feel his anger coming from him. His father, Jango, had made it his mission to hunt down the Death Watch after their leader, Viszla, had murdered his mentor Jaster Mereel. And aside from a small splinter group that had challenged that naive preachy optimist Satine in the Clone Wars, and a few nutters just after the rise of the Empire, the galaxy had been mercifully free of them. Until now it seemed.

"Nothing is concrete yet, but people have been seen bearing their emblem, and there are reports dotted around the planet and the sector that they've come back. Problem is, they're all isolated so there's no telling whether or not it's true." Beviin reported, looking wary.

Fett pondered. The Death Watch returning would certainly be a challenge, and maybe take his mind off things...but there was the fact that he was actually a head of state, which meant if he went after them, or they came after him, it would risk civil war. And that was the last thing he wanted, with things looking a bit odd in the wider galaxy, he wanted the Mandalorians free to go at a second's notice.

"Alright. Begin going round everyone, people we trust, saying they might be back. I saw what happened to the Republic and I don't want that happening here. And...sound out a few extra weapons for us. If the Death Watch are back, they're going to want a war. And if that's the case, then I'll give 'em one."

XX

Tavira smirked. Lumiya could believe what she wanted about Valek's loyalties. However, Tavira knew full well that they now lay solely with her. It was really quite amazing how easy she had been able to get her way with him. While Valek kept up the pretence that he still loyally served Lumiya, he now truly served Tavira and her ambitions, which were manifold. Getting out from under the yoke of the Sith was one, then returning the Invids to power was a second one, and then go on from there.

Back in the Corporate Sector, she had gathered the support of a small but lethal pirate group, which would be the start of a new gang of Invids. But, she still needed to get back the _Invidious_ and that meant she still had to serve Lumiya, as distasteful as that was. But, she supposed the Sith witch had repaired her precious Star Destroyer, so she supposed she did owe it to her to at least help with her plan. But the day was inevitably coming when she would turn on her Sith master...and for that she would need support.

And to that end, she had had her new band set up contacts and follow up on leads until she had what she desired...the contact with the new pirate leader, Collonzas.

The holo shimmered to life, revealing the burly leader of the pirates who against all odds had unified the pirate groups, something that hadn't been done on such a scale since the Stark Hyperspace War.

"Ah, Tavira, isn't it?" he asked, his eyebrow cocked in interest as he observed her from the command chair of his destroyer.

"Yes. I am calling with a proposition. You are unifying the various pirate groups. A noble idea. You also need heavy firepower in order to get the Alliance to take you seriously. I can help you there." She said, smiling slightly.

Collonzas snorted.

"Last I heard Tavira, you had an Alliance task force and a member of the Jedi Council chasing you. I don't need that sort of heat." He said dismissively, raising his hand to deactivate the transmission.

"The heat is gone. And what's more, my Star Destroyer is back to full strength and I have just recruited a small but vicious band to my own cause. All yours, if you help me with a certain...problem." she said elusively, and he leaned forward, his eyes belying his interest. After all, a Star Destroyer was always useful. And when the time was right, she would dispose of him and Lumiya, and take his band for herself, and the Invids would truly be a group to be feared.

"I'm listening." Collonzas conceded, and her violet eyes flashed maliciously.

XX

Collonzas snorted. The irony of it amused him. Here Tavira was, one of Lumiya's agents, and here she was, selling out a woman who could crush Tavira like the bug she is, out to someone who also happened to be one of her agents and a prospective apprentice to boot. No wonder what the galaxy perceived as the bad guys rarely ever won.

Collonzas pondered. It was clear that Tavira had succeeded in seducing Valek to her cause, which would annoy his mistress endlessly. However, he could always use her task force, from what she had outlined it could be quite useful in the coming events. As such, he would use Tavira. And then, at his mistress no doubt intended, dispose of her. Sending a brief report to Lumiya about Tavira's double-cross, he settled himself in and started looking at datapads that contained information: information that would lead to his coalition's first major strike as a whole.

XX

Lumiya harrumphed. So Tavira, as expected, had double crossed her. While that was expected, the turning of Valek was not. However, she supposed that the poor old boy had probably been flattered by the attention. Men.

While Lumiya fumed silently behind him, Han dropped the ship out of hyperspace in the Deep Core, to observe the murky black world that was Prakith.

"Here we are, yet another slice of galactic paradise." He said sarcastically, as K'kruhk, who was sitting beside him in the co-pilot's seat, chuckled.

"I won't have it said that we don't take you to interesting places." He said in amusement and Han grinned.

Lumiya looked out at the world as the ship descended through its murky atmosphere. While it was inhabited, the population centres were mainly centred around the large plateaus that made up the belt of the world. The rest of it was covered with mountainous terrain, which had made it an ideal location for the Emperor to base the Inquisitorious, his secret intelligence finding agents. The dark side pall on the world also made it an ideal location for such servants of the Emperor. The dark side pall itself stemmed from Andeddu's Keep, a dark side fortress in the north pole of the planet, where, the histories told, the Sith Lord Darth Andeddu had fled, fearing assassination by his numerous opponents. And that was the location they now sought.

"You reckon there's anything of importance down there?" Luke asked as he came into the cockpit, peering down at the dark world.

"Well Andeddu apparently locked himself up with all his knowledge before he died. A Sith does not share their knowledge or their power, even if they are on their death bed. So, it is my belief that there should be a considerable repository of dark side lore down in his fortress that we can look at, and if there is anything, it wont bring with it the inherent risk of enticing your precious nephew, niece or son because they can't talk to them, all you'll have to do is read them." Lumiya elaborated, and Han turned in his seat to look at her, giving her a smug glance.

"You mean that even when they're on death's door, the Sith are still spiteful bastards?" he asked, and she smiled beneath her veil.

"Quite."

"Alright. I'll tell the others that we're landing." Luke said, turning to leave.

"Oh, I won't be joining you on the surface." Lumiya announced and Luke looked at her suspiciously, his eyebrow raised and his aura untrusting.

"You aren't going to go out and explore a Sith world? You, the Dark Lord of the Sith?" he asked sceptically, and she shook her head.

"No. I find it difficult to centre myself here, so I shall remain here in meditation with Han. Oh, and take the lunatic with you. I don't want her messing up my meditation." She said, and with one last suspicious look, Luke vanished to talk to the others. Han gave her an odd look then turned back to landing the ship. Lumiya smiled beneath her veil. She actually did need some peace, so she could send off a few messages and get a little bit of a break from minding Alema, who by the sounds of things was whacking the walls with a hammer she had found and ranting about nexu pups or some such rubbish. And after all, Prakith was a dark side world. Smiling maliciously, she centred herself and pondered exactly what this unsavoury world could bring out of her companions.

**Once more sinister schemes are afoot. What is Lumiya up to now? What is Collonzas up to? And Tavira has her own agenda, small wonder Lumiya trusts no one. **

**And the Sssi Ruuk have returned, that can only mean more trouble for the Alliance.**

**And what plan has Cronal cooked up, what is he up to?**

**Time will tell! And thank you to SiouxFan for reviewing, you made my day!**


	12. Episode II: Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

The ship came to a stop at the bottom of a large slope that led up to the tall, imposing fortress, where Darth Andeddu had spent the last of his days. Luke didn't like this one bit. The dark side aura of the world, while not as potent as that of Korriban, was still incredibly powerful, and it was with a wary eye that he was looking towards Jacen cautiously. Something about this world just didn't feel right, and with everything that had happened in the other timeline, he wasn't going to take any chances. Placing one hand on his lightsaber, he headed towards the hatch, not noticing the annoyed, hurt look that his nephew sent him. Luke was slightly appeased by the fact that Lumiya wasn't coming with them. He didn't like the thought of her being on any Sith world, it just gave him a bad feeling, finding her in a dark side infused asteroid was bad enough. The idea of being in place on top of a dark side nexus, the thought gave him the creeps. Lumiya's warning was echoing in his head '_mind your emotions_'. She, before he had shooed Alema towards the ramp, had warned him that his hidden and suppressed emotions could betray him. After sending her a disdainful glance he had went to join the others.

"Alright let's go. Come on Alema." He said, guiding the Dark Jedi down the ramp.

"I can walk myself _Master_." She said scathingly, making Mara smile in amusement as the mutilated Twi'lek lumbered down the ramp, leaving Luke a little taken aback. Beckoning to the others, they headed out of the ship, clustering together for warmth and protection to avoid the gusts of sheer wind that rocked the mesa.

"Be careful!" Han called as he closed the ramp behind them, leaving him with Lumiya and the droids while the three of them went about repairing the ship, and she did her meditation.

Within the ship, Lumiya, in deep meditation, stretched out with her feelings, and touched something she didn't expect. She smiled. Yes, this would be an interesting field trip.

The group advanced forward, Luke keeping an eye on the way ahead and on Jacen, while Mara watched Alema and kept a protective eye on Ben as they walked up the slope to the dark, jagged fortress that the Sith seemed to favour over the curves and gentle lines of the temples the Jedi inhabited.

"I can feel the dark side here. It's strong, but in some way, diluted." K'kruhk said, lighting his saber as they got to the door, a massive pure black edifice that looked incredibly heavy.

"Diluted how?" Leia asked, peering worriedly up at the darkness of the fortress' spires and sharing a worried look with Alema, who was looking at it with equal parts fear and awe.

"Difficult to say..."

Mara looked up at the fortress. She had a bad feeling about this, not that she would admit it, after all, any time someone did everything went south.

"Alright, let's get this damn door open, if only so we can get out of this wind. It's like Hoth all over again." Luke grumbled, and stretching out with the Force, he prised open the door enough for all of them to get inside.

The fortress itself was dark, and stale. Dust swirled around in clouds as they entered, but it was a relief to be in from the cool wind. Alema looked up at the battlements and cocked her head curiously as she watched the shadows play across the wall.

"There are others here..." she whispered to herself.

"What was that Alema?" Jaina asked in what she clearly hoped was a kind voice, and Alema turned to her disdainfully.

"None of your business. Remember, I'm only here to affect the Balance." She said proudly, and Jaina rolled her eyes, before the door suddenly slammed shut behind them, the clanging reverberating throughout the entire passage.

"You think that was meant to happen?" Jacen asked in a slightly higher voice than usual, having got a fright when the door had slammed and had lit his lightsaber in a panic, something that was giving Ben an annoyingly superior smirk on his face.

"Keeps out a draught I suppose." Mara reasoned, patting Jacen on the shoulder as she lit her own saber to give them a little bit more light.

"Dad..." Ben said softly, pointing to the floor.

Luke knelt to the ground to see what his son was pointing at, and frowned.

"Footprints. A set of big footprints." Leia elaborated as she looked at the evidence lying in the dust, then looked down the dark passageway, frowning slightly.

"They can't have been here for that long. A week in this place and no one would know anyone had been here, so it has to be less than that." Jaina reasoned.

"Yeah, but there aren't any tracks leading away from the centre of the fortress. So, what happened to him?" Jacen asked darkly, and then twirled as he thought he heard something.

"Boy you're jumpy." Ben said, looking up at his cousin worriedly, as Jacen scoured the rafters, noting that the high ceilings and the stone work could give any number of enemies any place to hide.

"Yeah...I don't know, I just have this horrid feeling that, we're being watched." He said, raising his saber a little higher so he could see a bit further but due to all the shadows, he couldn't see anything.

"Strange. I feel a familiar presence again..." K'kruhk stated, looking at the prints musingly, then beckoned them all forward.

"What happens if we find the dude who came here before us?" Ben asked quietly as they advanced down the dusty corridor.

"We hope he's in one piece." Jaina said bluntly, and then she came to a sudden stop, making Alema bump into her, and she narrowly avoided the vibration of the impact.

"Crazy bugslut, you could have taken my eye out!" Alema whined.

"No one would notice. Uh, sorry." Luke said, looking away in embarrassment as Alema glared, and making Jacen smirk in amusement.

"What is it sweetie?" Leia asked, raising her own saber.

"Up there, there's things hanging from the rafters..." she said softly, and the next thing they knew, the said things unfurled their swings and swooped down at them, giving screeching noises as they did so.

Jaina yelped as the things dove down at them, sharp lashing teeth biting and snipping at them. They began slicing upwards, cutting through the winged pests as they swarmed all around them, their screeching noises hurting their ears as they fought in the dark corridor, the creatures flapping all around them, leading Ben to close his eyes, collect his power and let it out in a massive Force shove that knocked the things backwards. While Luke and Mara looked at their son in surprise, K'kruhk, Leia, Jacen and Jaina, three different colours of saber flashing, cut the last of their winged attackers to pieces, while Alema picked one up with her remaining arm in order to study it.

"What is it?" she asked jiggling it about so that it fluttered limply.

K'kruhk inspected it, frowning.

"A shyrack I believe. Usually found on Sith worlds, cousins of the mynock. Relatively harmless all things considered but can still leave a nasty bite. Is everyone alright?" he asked, and seemed content when everyone gave an affirmative.

Luke used the lull to turn to Jacen, his face demanding an explanation, which Jacen rolled his eyes at and turned away from his uncle.

"Don't start uncle Luke." He growled, stalking forward, while Luke's face turned cloudy.

"Dad, it's fine. He taught me it, and I reckon it's a pretty handy thing to know don't you?" Ben piped up, but Luke shook his head.

"Ben, you're too young to know this sort of stuff! Some advance masters have trouble with Force blow, and you can perform it as a natural." Luke said, while Jaina could feel her twin getting angrier through their twin bond.

"So isn't it good that Ben can do it then? After all, if it helps him kick butt then why bother to complain?" she asked, coming to her brother's defence.

"Because he is too young to know it!" Luke argued, and Ben rolled his eyes.

"Dad! Get it into your head! I'm not a little kid! And Jacen's my master, not you!" he snapped, and to prove his point went to stand beside his cousin, who gave him a small half grin.

"Luke...leave it." Mara said firmly, glowering at her husband as she followed her nephew and son.

The group went quiet, K'kruhk frowning as they progressed. He thought Luke had dealt with this, given Jacen full leave in whatever he taught Ben. He could understand Luke being annoyed if it he had taught Ben Force lightning, but this was hardly something to get worked up over. Telekinesis was part of a Jedi's basic defence (unless you were Corran Horn or his kids but that was just their bad luck), so why was Luke getting so wound up? Either way, it might be best to end their business here quickly, as he could feel the dark side pall was beginning to get to them.

As they went along the passage, Luke frowned, pondering. He just couldn't explain it, but Jacen having taught Ben so much was annoying him immensely. But he didn't know why. He knew Jacen was Ben's master and he accepted that. But he still had a bad feeling in his stomach that he couldn't explain. He chanced a look at Jacen, and noticed that Ben was sticking close to him, and he knew that this was something he couldn't intrude on. The two of them were so close, why did he keep forcing himself between them? Sighing, he resolved to make it up to Jacen later. But still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong, and it was linked to the two of them. And all he could do was watch. Grunting in frustration, he sent another look to his nephew and son and wondered how he was going to make it up to the two of them.

Jacen sighed. He knew part of Luke's problem was that he felt excluded by Ben, and he got that he really did. He knew that Ben still had daddy issues, that he was in someways still slightly scared of his famous father and intimidated by his legacy. After all, Ben, like Jacen, had always been a mommy's boy, and it was slightly hard for him to be as close to Luke as he was to Mara. But there was still some stuff that Luke hadn't dealt with yet. Namely him being Caedus in another timeline and the fact that he was afraid Jacen was coming in between him and Ben. Why couldn't he just trust him like he used to? Looking down at the ground he began scuffing his feet in annoyance.

The group was silent as they progressed down the corridor, although the silence was broken when Alema started humming to herself. As they got further down the passageway, heading towards the centre of the temple, Ben started to press close to Jacen, as he too began to feel that they were being watched.

"There's something in here isn't there?" Ben asked his cousin, whose mouth was set in a grim line.

"Yeah. Stretch out, see if you can't identify them." Jacen said as they came into a cross shaped room. One stem led back the way they had came, and there was a dip heading downwards straight ahead, and to the left and right were passages leading elsewhere.

"Which way?" Jaina asked, but stopped when Mara held up her hand, pointing to a misshapen lump.

She walked over and knelt down beside it, using her saber to illuminate the carcass. It was relatively recent, but not fresh. The beast was canine like, with long claws and teeth.

"A tuk'ata, a guardian of the tombs of the Sith. You reckon it was our mystery guest?" K'kruhk asked her, and she nodded grimly.

"Not long, maybe a week, definitely establishing the time frame. And look at what killed it." She ordered grimly, and Leia gave it a once over. She had seen that sort of wound, in the other timeline, on the body of Darth Caedus and she shuddered, earning her a strange look from Jaina as she did so.

"Lightsaber wound?" she asked, and Mara nodded.

"Yep. So, suggestions people?" she asked to the group in general.

"Jedi?" Alema asked hopefully, not particularly inclined to run into another Sith. Lumiya, while she could be nice enough to her when she put her mind to it to the extent that they actually managed to get on, she was still a belittling sarcastic old witch. Mind you, she was like that to everyone.

"That would be easy enough to check, but why would a Jedi be this deep in the core?" Luke asked, trading concerned looks with Mara.

Ben then turned away from the corpse of the Sith hound.

"Um, mom? We're sort of surrounded..." he whispered.

Mara barely had time to turn around before about twenty tuk'ata stampeded at them, roaring and barking, their teeth and claws flashing, their red eyes flashing. Their lit their sabers, cutting into flesh and bone as they were beset by the pack. K'kruhk tried to Force push them away, but it was to no avail, if nothing else it seemed to make the beats angrier, with one leaping for his head. Mara cut down the one that was going for Luke's neck before having to be saved from the jaws of another by Alema, who then gave a scream as one bit down on her remaining lekku. Jaina cut the beast in half, turning to skewer the one that took a clawed swipe at her before dancing away from another two. Leia winced as Jacen stabbed down into one's head, remembering the time when he could bond with almost any animal. Lamenting those times, she turned to see a larger tuk'ata standing atop a pedestal, giving different sounding barks from the rest. Larger and with its poisonous tail arched as if ready to pounce, Leia threw her saber across the room, slicing it in half right down the middle, making it howl in pain as it was cut in two. Luke then sliced the head off another, wincing as a claw cut into his leg. Jacen then cut down the next two and Ben and K'kruhk went back to back, fending off the beasts one at a time before the last of them fell to Ben's blade.

"Aww poor doggies." Alema lamented sadly, stroking her sore lekku, while Jaina and Mara looked at her incredulously.

"Didn't one...?" K'kruhk asked, and Luke shrugged.

"If she doesn't remember, better for us, she can't moan about it." He reasoned.

"Alright, no more sight seeing. Which way K'kruhk?" Leia asked, taking charge, because she didn't particularly want to encounter any more nasty beasties.

"Down deeper, we should be close to his tomb." He said, and they headed down the gradual slope.

"Right, now who's watching us?" Jaina asked quietly as they came close to a large set of ornate doors.

"They aren't animals are they?" Ben asked and Jacen nodded in approval.

"No they aren't. We've got company. Sentient company at that."

"What about the footprints?" Alema asked curiously, limping along beside them.

"Something makes me think they don't belong to whoever is watching us." Mara said dryly.

"Great." Ben summed up sarcastically as Luke and K'kruhk opened the large, ornate doors to reveal the room beyond.

It was mostly derelict. Unlike the rest of the tomb they had been in so far, which was mostly intact, this room was not. The ceiling had caved in, large pillars and columns had toppled in on themselves, webs hung from the rafters, piles of rubble littered the floor and dangerous looking wires hung down from the roof. This had clearly been the site of a battle in days gone by.

"Anyone else suddenly got a bad case of the creeps?" Ben asked, looking around the ruined chamber, where shadows hid everything.

Luke stretched out with his feelings, frowning. All he could hear was the word 'intruders' over and over again, like some sort of dark echo. Luke lit his saber and called out to the room.

"We have no wish to harm you." He called loudly, his voice echoing in the destroyed chamber.

And all of a sudden, they were bathed in a sea of red light, as around fifty red lightsabers sprung to life. Looking around he saw bony, malnourished humans of all ages, some old some younger, all pale skinned, wide eyed and nasty looking, crawling out from the shadows, jumping down from the ruined roof or coming up from cracks in the floor. The others all raised their lightsabers and they formed a circle of defence as the saber wielding humans surrounded them. The stench was unbelievable as they approached, and Luke noticed that many of them had either green or yellow tints to their skin, a sure sign of disease.

"Intruders! You may not wish to harm us, but we wish to harm you, hee! We are the Malevolence, and you disturb the tomb of our lord and master Darth Andeddu! We shall not let you pass! I, Morlok of the Malevolence, declare it so!" the leader, who was crouching above them leering down at Jaina excitedly crowed.

"Darth Andeddu is long dead!" K'kruhk called, and the Malevolence burst into cackling, mocking laughter.

"But his legacy remains intruder! Yours, sadly, will not! Recently we were more, but there are still enough to kill all of you!" the leader boasted, and they all leapt at the group, their sabers going straight for the kill.

XX

While Han and the droids tinkered away with the ship, Lumiya updated all her orders, receiving the news that Cronal had apparently returned, and an update on the Tavira situation. As to the first, that news was most useful. She expected the withered old toad to be dead by now, but apparently he wasn't, and as such his reappearance was quite interesting. And as to Tavira, who had annoyingly won over her stormtrooper commander, she had apparently been busy and had been accepted by Collonzas, which bared watching. After she had done that, she had gone deep into meditation, and found the centre of dark power she was looking for. Reaching into the Force, she saw that the group had just encountered the guardians of the tomb, the Malevolence. She had known they would be there. Frowning slightly as she mentally traced their progress, she thought that there would actually be more of them. No matter. The fanatical cult, rather reminiscent of Krayt's Sith she thought bitterly, would be no match for them even if they did outnumber them. But, the group would be a match for each other.

Centring herself in the dark side, she drew on the power of the planet. Smiling smugly, she drew on the great power that Andeddu's final resting place afforded. Her power of illusions grew, her control getting stronger, strong enough so that they would eventually be supported on their own. While she did that, she probed the thoughts of the group, and found what she needed. Insecurity. Resentment. Excellent. Waving her hands and drawing on the power of the dark side, she made her move.

XX

Luke cut down three with a wide stroke of his saber, while Alema gave an insane war cry, spiralling through the air and taking the heads off another three. Jacen and Jaina were back to back, keeping the Malevolence off balance with their team work, with Jacen defending and Jaina attacking and then vice versa as they battled. K'kruhk was holding off about six on his own, his Whiphid brute strength easily overcoming the weakened muscles of the cultists, his saber cutting apart two of his attackers who's guard he just ripped down. Ben was on his own but was holding well, keeping them all at bay and attacking when he gave himself an opening. Leia was up in the rafters, taking the fight to them, pushing onward like a juggernaut, scattering them and knocking a few off to their deaths. Mara meanwhile was violently attacking, her saber a blur as she cut through the Malevolence cult. Morlok then leapt down, his saber slamming into Luke's. Luke rolled his eyes, blocking the swing and turning deftly, before flipping over Morlok, kicking him to the ground as he went. Ben jumped to the rafters and sent several piles of rubble into the group that leapt up after him, allowing him to cut three of them in half. Jaina was now on her own, using heavy handed attacks, batting away at her foe's defences and slicing through bodies as she went. Jacen meanwhile was a blur of energy, using slabs of stone both as a shield and as a weapon, which he then blasted outwards, crushing his opponents, before reversing his blade and stabbing the two who tried to surround him. Luke caught Morlok's blade on his own and with his one handed grip, spun it out of his foe's hand and took Morlok's head.

Over in the corner, a young Sith boy by the name of Zekar watched as the group decimated his kinsmen. Feeling saddened, he felt his attention drawn to the young boy with them, a boy much the same age as he was. Zekar had always been good at foreseeing things. And what he foresaw for this one pleased him immensely. Staying in the shadows, he watched as his wicked uncle, Lioat, ran further into the temple. Knowing what the fool intended to do, he got further back and hoped the group would survive their coming trial.

Mara dissected the last of the Malevolence and panted deeply. For malnourished little gnaffs, they had put up a considerable fight. But it appeared as if their fight wasn't yet over. Turning, she saw the Emperor approaching her, his face a mask of fury and betrayal. Fear gripped her. "You can't be here, you're dead." She said worriedly, as the Emperor did something he rarely did, as a platinum encased lightsaber appeared in his hand.

"You have failed me. You have betrayed me. You will pay for your treason. And then I will take your dear little boy and make him the new Vader." The Emperor spat maliciously.

Fury roared through Mara, and her saber sprung to life.

"NEVER!" she yelled and sprang at the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Luke turned to see Jacen place a hand on Ben's shoulder, and it was with a flash of alarm that he finally saw the truth. Jacen had become a Sith. His hair had gotten darker, his eyes had gone the sickly Sith yellow, and his clothes had become a jet black jump suit.

"Get away from my son." Luke commanded, lighting his saber, and Ben looked at him curiously. Was it Luke's imagination, or could he see Ben's eyes start to go yellow too?

"Dad..."

"Uncle Luke. I knew it would come to this." Jacen growled in a coarse voice that wasn't his own, and lit his own red saber.

"I won't let you hurt him. You won't take my son to the dark side." Luke vowed, and launched himself at Darth Caedus.

"Well done Ben." Jacen said proudly, and Ben grinned up at him as his cousin ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Get away from my son." Luke said suddenly, and Jacen rolled his eyes at Ben before turning to face his uncle.

"Alright uncle Luke, what's your problem now?" he asked, and then took a step back in surprise as Luke lit his saber.

"Dad, no!" Ben protested angrily, standing in between his father and his cousin, but Jacen pulled him back and gently forced him behind him.

"Uncle Luke, whatever's eating you, stop. You're frightening Ben. And me too if it comes to that." Jacen said nervously, his own saber in his hand but not lit.

"I won't let you hurt him. You won't take my son to the dark side." Luke swore, and leapt at Jacen, his green blade going straight for Jacen's head. Jacen shoved Ben back out of the way, getting him out of harm's way while he backpedalled, barely getting his saber up in time before Luke was upon him. Ben looked on at the scene in fright as he watched Jacen struggle to defend himself, all because he'd taken care to make sure Ben was safe first.

"Jacen don't!" Ben yelled as Jacen angled his blade a bit better.

"Alright. You've been asking for this." Jacen snarled, and he punched Luke in the nose, sending the Grand Master staggering.

The sound of a lightsaber igniting alerted K'kruhk. Turning, he stopped short. The bald headed assassin, marked with tattoos. Asajj Ventress. One of Dooku's most lethal servants, she was here. On Prakith. Once again threatening the lives of those he cared about. The last time he had encountered her, she had nearly killed Jeisel. Not this time.

"No Ventress. It's been some time. But I'm stronger than you. Away assassin!" he roared, blocking her swing viciously.

Leia leapt down from the rafter, tired from the battle. But then, she saw a face she had never expected to see again. Nom Anor. The Vong agent who had infiltrated the galaxy, poisoned Mara and who knows what else, was right in front of her.

"Anor! You should have stayed dead." She hissed, her saber blazing to life once more.

"Come and get me Leia. Then I will take away your precious twins, just like we took away baby Anakin." He gloated and Leia roared, going for his throat.

Jaina looked around. And to her great surprise, she saw Tahiri, who was looking down at the floor.

"Tahiri, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise as she saw her friend.

Tahiri then looked up, and Jaina flinched as she saw her eyes. Sith eyes. And an evil smile to go along with it.

"I've come for Jacen. For Lord Caedus. He belongs with the Sith. Not with his wimpy sister." She taunted in a voice horribly unlike her own.

"You aren't making Jacen evil, you won't do to him what Caedus did to you." She said, her voice shaking.

Tahiri gave a loud, cold laugh.

"He did this to me? No dear Jaina. I turned him, he fell for the wrong woman. I was always a Sith. It's quite fun you know, seducing Solo boys." She taunted, and Jaina snapped, launching herself at Darth Tahiri.

Alema looked on in surprise and mild curiosity as Luke fought Jacen, as Mara duelled K'kruhk, and as Leia battled Jaina. This was brilliant, if they all killed one another, it would definitely righten the balance. Looking over she saw to her surprise that Ben wasn't fighting anyone and was desperately trying to stop his father and cousin fighting. Figuring he'd be mad at him, as she rather liked him, he suited her dark humour and wasn't that important to the Balance, she decided to make him think she wasn't watching and revelling in the little scene before her. Lighting her saber, she started to taunt an invisible opponent.

"Come on then!" she called, and then started duelling with mid air.

Smiling as she saw Ben send an exasperated look in her direction, she went on the defensive with her foe and moved to block his lightsaber swing, all the while watching the others duel to the death.

XX

Han frowned as Artoo tweetled at him.

"Well there has to be records of it somewhere, check it again." He ordered, and the droid beeped an affirmative.

"If I may say Captain Solo, it would seem as if all records of any such calls have been erased. Personally, I would say that it looks deliberate, wouldn't you?" Threepio asked, and he did have to hand it to the droid, he had a point.

It wasn't so much the absent calls on the log that bothered him. No, it was the small pulse transmissions that Artoo kept picking up, he didn't have a clue what they could be. Either way, he was pretty sure that it had something to do with the resident Sith Lord. Resolving to ask her about it once the others got back (not that he was scared of her or anything), he was about to go to the cockpit when Artoo started to beep wildly, his little lamp coming on and shining outside.

"What is it short stuff?" Han asked, as the Sith in question arrived, a frown showing from above her veil.

"He says he saw something moving in that outcropping." Threepio elaborated, and Han and Lumiya both got there in time to see a long, thin pincer like leg retreat into the outcropping and disappear.

"What do you reckon that was?" Han asked, his hand going for his blaster, just to assure himself it was there.

Lumiya looked out at where it was, pondering. It could just be a local animal and they were being jumpy, but something told her that it might be a gift left by Lord Andeddu to guard his tomb.

"Artoo, would you perform a geo scan on that outcropping? I want to know where it leads." Lumiya said as she went and fetched Andeddu's holocron, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What is it?" he asked, concern growing in his gut.

"The ancient Sith usually had such unsavoury creatures as tuk'ata and shyracks guarding their tombs, however a few of the nastier and more powerful Sith Lords had worse things than them guarding their tombs. Naga Sadow had terentateks guarding his tomb on Korriban," she began, but was cut off by Han.

"What's a terentatek?" he asked, not at all liking the look on the Sith's face.

"Think rancor but smaller, deadlier, meaner and a whole lot scarier. Anyway, we can rule them out, Exar Kun only created them in the Great Sith War,"

"So how did they get in Sadow's tomb? He was the Great Hyperspace War wasn't he?"

"They moved there, knowing they were being hunted in the Great Hunt. Didn't do them any good, Revan killed them forty years later, now will you please stop interrupting? Point is, Darth Andeddu was incredibly powerful so I am willing to bet that there could very well be something nastier than the traditional guardians here on Prakith, and if so the others could be in trouble." She elaborated, as she accessed the part she was looking for, her green eyes narrowed.

"Well?" Han asked urgently as she scanned the info.

"'Of the many fearsome beats I brought with me to my new palace, none attract my favour such as the silooth. How quaint it is to use the teachings of that conceited fool Muur to create something so wonderful. His poisons and toxins, combined with whatever experiments that twisted wench XoXaan performed on my dear pet, have made him lethal in every way shape and form. My dear pet, he will live for an eternity, as a last resort to defend my tomb. Ah my dear silooth.'" Lumiya finished the anecdote and turned to Han her face pale.

"What is this thing?"

"A creature that the Sith mutated, making it ten times bigger and a whole lot more dangerous. However, that isn't what worries me. If Karness Muur had his hand in the creation of the tomb's silooth, it may be able to poison them, infect them so that they turn into other Sithspawn! So unless you want your family to get eaten by a giant bug, you better come with me!" Lumiya said, as she looked at the holomap Artoo was displaying, showing that the thing was definitely heading to where she had set the visions on the group.

"Keep looking Artoo. And keep an eye on things, any sign of trouble and get the ship out. Wait a minute, did you say bugs? And why do you care?" Han demanded as he ran after Lumiya, who was putting the holocron into a slot on her arm.

"Yes, it's a giant beetle thing. And I care because if they get infected, one we stand less of a chance of destroying Abeloth and two I don't want a bunch of Sithspawn running around the ship, it barely flies as it is!" she yelled tartly and Han glowered at her back as he hurried after her.

XX

"Will you all just stop?" Ben roared furiously, aiming a Force push at Leia and Jaina, but it was to no avail, the two duellists simply flipped up into the rafters to continue their fight up there.

Mara and K'kruhk's fight was in full swing, and it was with a flash of alarm that Ben saw that his mother was beginning to be pushed back. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her in this timeline like he apparently had in the other. He was about to go and help when he saw an increasingly angry Jacen kick Luke in the chest, yelling for his uncle to stop, but Luke wasn't listening to him, he kept attacking, believe Jacen had become Darth Caedus.

"Dad, leave him alone!" Ben yelled, panicking slightly as Luke kicked Jacen in the gut, making his cousin stagger back. Ben gave an angry yell and flipped over to the middle of the battle, coming between Jacen and his father.

"Dad, snap out of it!" he shouted, but to his great surprise, Luke swung his blade once again.

Jacen however was quicker, and Ben felt himself thrown away from the battle as once again Jacen got him out of harm's way, and Luke's blade cut through where Ben's head had been seconds before. Jacen then slammed his blade into Luke's locking their blades.

"Luke, get over yourself! It's a vision or something, I'm not evil and I'm not turning Ben!" Jacen growled, his strength prevailing over Luke's.

"I won't stop until you're stopped, Sith." Luke said harshly, and Ben saw a flicker of pain in Jacen's eyes, and Luke exploited it, shunting Jacen back and bringing his blade back in order to take Jacen's head.

"NO!" Ben yelled, trying desperately to think of something to stop them.

"ENOUGH!" a harsh, female voice barked, and suddenly all of the combatants were knocked hurtling away from one another, slamming into walls or thudding to the ground.

Ben turned and with great relief he saw a furious Lumiya, her hand high in the air clearly having let out a Force shockwave, and a disbelieving Han running towards them from the passageway. Alema meanwhile was still swinging her lightsaber, fighting herself happily, at least she was until Lumiya summoned the saber from her hand.

"What the hell has been going on?" Han demanded of Ben, while the others all sat up, looking dazed and confused, aside from Jacen, who just glowered at Luke.

"I don't know, they all just started fighting each other! Dad was saying stuff to Jacen though, stuff about him being Caedus, but I don't know what the others were doing, and I reckon Alema was just fighting herself, she's weird that way." Ben concluded as he looked at the mutilated Dark Jedi, who looked vaguely put out.

Han turned to the others and Leia went pale as she saw who she had been fighting.

"Jaina, I'm so sorry, I thought you were Nom Anor! I couldn't stop myself..." Leia said, and Jaina shook her head.

"It's ok mom, you were Tahiri, you were taking Jacen to the dark side..." she said, then flinched as her twin shot a surge of red hot anger through their bond as he got to his feet.

"I'm guessing you weren't the Emperor." Mara said sheepishly, helping K'kruhk to his feet, and he shrugged.

"I thought you were Ventress, fair exchange I suppose. I'm sorry my dear." He said patting her on the shoulder.

Luke looked over at Jacen.

"Jacen, I..." he began awkwardly.

"Save it." Jacen ground out angrily, turning his back on his uncle, though it was with smug satisfaction that he saw he had bloodied Luke's nose when he had punched him.

Luke took a step towards him, but Ben stood in his way.

"Leave it. And I'm not talking to you either and not because you nearly diced Jacen. You nearly decapitated me!" he shouted at his father, who took a frightened step back.

"Excuse me?" Mara demanded angrily, her furious gaze turning to her husband as Luke looked aghast.

Lumiya then stood in front of them all and glowered at them all imperiously.

"I warned you didn't I? I told you, before you went out, that the tomb would play on your fears, your insecurities, your resentment, but no, you all too perfect Jedi were too good to listen to me! Did it never occur to you that I might be warning you for a reason? Honestly! Dark side tombs are very dangerous for Jedi, especially ones that are so centred in the light side as you lot! And unfortunately for him, because Jacen is more ambiguous than you lot are, he wasn't affected by such dark mind altering illusions and as such can fully remember his uncle trying to kill him! Why don't you people never listen?" she stormed angrily, stamping her foot in rage.

All of them looked down, ashamed of themselves, and rightly so, Lumiya thought bitterly. Her plan, which was to weaken the bonds between them and show them that just because they were Jedi did not make them superior too her, had worked a little too well. They were all certainly shaken, and she had outed the fact that Luke had still not dealt mentally with his issues regarding Jacen's fall in the other timeline or that he was teaching his son, undermining his authority, and while she had certainly frightened them all and due to her little rant had got them wondering if it was not their opponents they resented, increasing their self doubt, it had put her plan into a lot more danger than she had anticipated. While she had hoped that they would accidentally lose one of their group, (preferably Jaina, she was driving her mad with her moping about Jag), she had nearly lost Ben which would be the undoing of her entire plan. Cursing herself and her nearly all too clever plan, she turned, and softened her voice while the group avoided eye contact with each other, aside from Mara and Luke, with Mara glaring at her husband, and Jacen and Ben, with Jacen ruffling Ben's hair affectionately.

"How come I wasn't affected?" Ben asked curiously.

"You're young, a teenager, and if you didn't have a stubborn old git for a father you wouldn't have any worries at all bar helping avert the apocalypse." Lumiya said, edging to the side of the room, while Ben shot a dirty look at his father.

She saw the dark shadows and called out.

"Come out child, we won't hurt you!" she called, and to their great surprise a young member of the Malevolence edged out of the shadows.

Like the rest of the Malevolence, he was pale skinned and emaciated, but, being younger than those they had encountered, probably around Ben's age, he still looked relatively young and fit. His eyes were wide and black, but his face was kinder looking, less worn by the harshness of the environment they were in. He also had most of his hair, worn short true but he didn't look like a convict at least.

"I'm, I'm Zekar." He said by way of greeting, coming out with his hands up, which Leia waved down as the boy approached.

"You've been there all this time? Where were you when the others attacked us?" Jaina asked worriedly, afraid they'd traumatised the kid, because while he did have a lightsaber and the look that identified him as part of the Malevolence, he didn't feel dark at all.

"I've always lived here, I was born part of the Malevolence group. I was left behind when the others were taken..." he explained, and Alema cocked her head and gave him a funny look.

"Who took them?" she asked curiously, wondering if someone else was about to effect her plan for the Balance.

Zekar looked at K'kruhk.

"A man, nearly as big as you. He was covered in armour, and he was dark, like you," he said to Alema, then looked at Lumiya, "but not as dark as you. He had two lightsabers too, and he claimed that he was the ruling Dark Lord of the Sith."

The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the group was astounding. Jacen and Jaina both rolled their eyes and shook their heads, Ben sighed in exasperation, K'kruhk's eyes widened in shock, Alema started to cackle, and Luke, Han, Leia and Mara all levelled their weapons at Lumiya, who was quivering in anger. She turned to them all and held up her hand, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Wait." She ordered, and she stomped off into the shadows, where she let out a scream of fury and annoyance before trotting back, looking very grumpy.

"Did I say something wrong?" Zekar asked Ben, and Ben grinned at the Sith boy.

"Nah, but you have successfully annoyed our resident Sith Lord, so well done!" he said brightly, clapping him on the shoulder, and Zekar smiled awkwardly.

"Another Sith?" K'kruhk demanded in astonishment.

"Yes, another bloody Sith." Lumiya said, hate and disdain colouring the statement.

"Friend of yours Lumiya? Former apprentice maybe?" Jaina asked coolly, her eyes narrowed, and Lumiya arched her pencilled eyebrow at the girl.

"No, certainly not. My last male apprentice died before the Bastion Accords. Male apprentices are...unreliable. And they leave the toilet seat up. No, this Sith..." she said, but looking at their faces she knew she had no choice but to give Krayt away. Ah well, she didn't owe him anything, and it wasn't as if they could do anything about him anyway. "This Sith is called Darth Krayt. He has started a new Sith Order and is in opposition to my faction of Sith. He is nothing but a rank amateur, an opportunist with an overinflated view of his own skill, power and importance, and ever since he appeared with his heretical vision for a new dark order, he has been nothing but a thorn in my side!" She ranted harshly.

Luke frowned.

"Another Sith Order? But how...?"

"Been sleeping on the job haven't you?" Alema taunted, and Lumiya smiled indulgently.

"But that's impossible! We'd have sensed it..." Luke protested and K'kruhk shook his head.

"Doubtful. Only knowledge from the other timeline gave me any clue as to where Lumiya was. And Darth Sidious and Darth Traya were both surrounded by Jedi at nearly all times, and they weren't discovered until it was too late. And it is more difficult to identify Sith from great distances. Where are they?" he asked Lumiya, who snorted.

"You expect me to tell you that? I may detest Krayt but he is still a Sith and therefore useful. You'll find out in due course." She said tauntingly, and the Whiphid shot her a dirty, grumpy look.

"Never mind where they are, how many are there? Just one or two like you?" Jacen asked hopefully, and she smirked.

"No. Didn't you hear me, he leads a new Sith Order. According to what I know of him, and he's been on the go for at least twenty years, he could very well be equal in number to your lot. He believes in the Rule of One, his will unites all the Sith under him, and as such by his reckoning they shouldn't have any power struggles because they are all fanatically devoted to him and his will." She explained smugly, and Mara swore.

"Great. We have a super powered thing in the Maw, a nut job Dark Jedi, a bitchy Dark Lord of the Sith, a rogue Yuuzhan Vong woman and to top it all off a new Sith Order nearly the same size as the Jedi who are sitting in the dark and laughing at us, led by a fanatic! There's day I really wish I stayed in bed." She grumbled.

"When you say they were taken?" Luke asked Zekar, who looked down at the ground in shame.

"He said I wasn't strong enough to join him. He took over one hundred of us, that's why there's so few of us. And he took most of the women and girls too, only leaving a few behind, who you lot all killed." He said sullenly, and Han looked to Lumiya curiously.

"What's he up to?" he asked, and then her eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh Krayt, you have been clever. He took them so he can add them to his own forces, making more new Sith Lords, with a minimum of training, and with the women he ensures that they have access to more generations. Cleverer than I expected of him actually." She mused.

"Great. He's building an army of Force sensitives. Which is just what we need." Jaina said with a scowl.

Luke was about to ask something else when there was a massive roar from behind them, and a loud, deep laugh.

"Stupid nephew! You will pay for consorting with these vermin who would despoil the tomb of Lord Andeddu! Behold the silooth!" a man, who they could just vaguely make out standing on top of a raised walkway crowed.

"Who's that?" Ben asked, as Zekar lit his red saber and he followed suit.

"My uncle, Lioat. He's evil, even by our standards. But he's released the beast!" he said in panic, and the entire group readied their weapons, and went pale as they saw the silooth emerge from the depths of the shadows.

It was massive, taking up the entire height of the cavern, and Han reckoned it was easily the size of the _Wild Karrde_ at least. With eight long, armoured legs ending in vicious pincers, it only got worse. The entire body was covered by a hard carapace, marked with deadly looking ridges and spines emerging from it. Its head, probably the size of an X-Wing, was a ferocious, ugly looking thing. A large horn jutted up from its head, coming down in a vicious point that hung before its bright, pupil less yellow eyes. It had massive teeth, jagged and lethal looking, and an upturned horn protruded from just above its mouth. At the side of its head were two tusks, and two of the teeth had also grown into tusks. Seeing its prey, it gave a roar, and the putrid breath of the creature was enough to make them all waver, and acidic spit flew out of its mouth, landing and burning holes in the columns, floor and walls.

"I'm going to be the first to say I have a very bad feeling about this." Ben murmured, and the beast charged, while Lioat laughed gloatingly.

It swung a deadly limb towards Jaina, who backflipped out of the way, barely avoiding the cut. Lumiya cracked her whip against its shell, but all it did was give an angry growl and smack a leg into her, sending her crashing across the room. Zekar and Ben leapt at it, their sabers plunging down towards its neck as they leapt. The two boys landed, but their blades barely scuffed the hard armour, and the beast reared, sending them sprawling to the floor. Luke and Mara then flung larges pieces of rubble at it with the Force. The silooth turned, and a jet of lucid green acid leapt from its mandibles, melting the rubble as it flew through the air. Jacen and K'kruhk saw this, and had to duck to the floor to avoid another swipe. Jacen rolled under the beasts belly and stabbed upwards, but all that served to do was irritate the creature. Giving a rage filled roar it started stomping its eight legs, knocking more and more rubble down from above and toppling the few remaining standing columns. Alema gave a ferocious war cry and landed on its horn and with a vicious cut with her single arm, she took out the creatures eye. The silooth roared in pain and shook its head, sending the Twi'lek crashing into a pile of rubble. Han then opened up with his blaster, while Jaina, Ben and Zekar threw their sabers at the beast. However the armour was far too durable, making Han's bolts ricochet off them, leading to Luke having to block them with his saber, and the three lightsabers barely scratched the beast before it dashed after its assailants, spurting acid at the three of them. Lumiya raised a hand, and with a great deal of effort, she deflected the acid back towards the beast, but it pulled itself into its carapace, and it slammed against it uselessly. It then tried to snap its jaws around Lumiya, who gave curse and jumped up into the rafters along with Jacen. He reached out with the Force, trying to calm the beast but it was to no avail, and it reared up, splitting their beam in two and spilling Lumiya and Jacen to the floor. Zekar fired a small burst of lightning at the creature, which simply shrugged it off and it again charged for him and Ben, spraying acid at them both, forcing them to leap behind a pillar for safety. K'kruhk then reached out, and lifted a fallen pillar with an effort, which he threw at the silooth. The column slammed into the beast, knocking it off its legs, and to their great relief, it finally cracked the beasts armour. Jaina and Leia then jumped out of the shadows, and while Jaina was knocked hurtling away, Leia sunk her blade through the crack into the flesh interior of the beast. It gave an infuriated roar and sent Leia sprawling, to which Han responded by firing several bolts into the exposed wound, melting some of the armour around the wound. Jacen then centred himself in the Force, and with a heave of effort, found the shatterpoint, and applied a subtle Force push. The armour shattered and fell to the ground as the beast got to its feet, but it had had enough, and spurted acid all over the room. Luke pulled Mara and Lumiya to the floor, while Mara covered the three of them with a Force shield. Jaina Force pushed her father out of harm's way while she flipped up to the rafters, and Jacen and Alema darted into the alcove Zekar had been hiding in. Ben tackled Zekar to the ground and they rolled beneath the beast while K'kruhk leapt to the beasts back. Zekar then poured lightning into the wound, while Ben shoved his lightsaber through, but the beast gave a jerk, the momentum of which sent Ben flying across the room. Zekar had to move to avoid the stomping feet, and K'kruk was jerked off, sending him crashing into Lioat, who hadn't stopped laughing. K'kruhk growled and took the cultists head, and sent a flash of thought to the others. As one they all grabbed a pillar or a piece of rubble and sent it crashing into the beast, creating more cracks in the armour. Zekar then let loose with lightning, and Han bulls eyed a couple of the cracks, exposing more flesh, as the beast started spraying acid everywhere again. The vibrations were beginning to bring the room down on top of them all, but before the beast could do anything, Alema flicked over the room, and plunged her blade through a crack on its neck, plunging her saber down, and with a last mournful keen it gave a feeble roar and collapsed to the ground, its legs sliding out from under it as it came to a stop.

The group then came out of hiding, avoiding the parts of the floor that were bubbling or the bits of roof that were falling.

"That was far too close." Jaina breathed as Mara hugged Ben in relief.

"Well done Alema." Lumiya said, nodding thankfully to her, and Alema shrugged at her, then started singing to herself, making Lumiya sigh.

"Is everyone alright? Jacen?" Luke asked, and was rewarded for his effort by a slight smile from his nephew.

"Right, I for one am all for leaving this place. Zekar, can you get us down to Andeddu's tomb before any more of your friends set a millennia old beastie on us?" Leia asked, and the Sith boy nodded eagerly.

"Sure, follow me!" he said brightly, and the group began to follow him, avoiding the dead body of the silooth.

"He's alright, for a Sith." Jaina commented to her brother as Zekar led them past his uncle's dead body and opened the door he had been standing in front of.

"Yeah he is actually. What do you reckon we're going to do with him?" Jacen asked curiously.

"Well he can't stay here on his own, we could drop him off at the city or something." She said, eyeing her brother, who rolled his eyes.

"Jaina, I'm fine. I'm just mad at uncle Luke that's all."

"You two need to sort this out."

"I thought we had! But then he goes all insane and tries to kill me and nearly takes Ben's head off in the process! I don't know sis, he's just so set against me teaching Ben. It's not as if I'm going to turn him into a Sith when his back's turned, in case he hasn't noticed we have a resident Sith on board who's more dangerous than me! I just wish he'd get over himself." Jacen grumbled as they followed the bobbing torch that Zekar was carrying.

A little ahead, Mara overheard the twins and turned to her husband.

"They are right you know." She whispered and Luke sighed.

"I know. I'll make it up to Jacen when we get off planet. It's just...I'm afraid he's coming between me and Ben, and I don't know, there's still something off about Jacen, I can't put my finger on it. With what we know of the other timeline, I feel that I'm just waiting for Jacen to trip up, one morally ambiguous act and I'll be on him. And there is more darkness in him than there is in the rest of us, even you." He explained, and Mara narrowed her laser bolt like eyes.

"Did it occur to you husband mine that the problem could be the fact that you aren't getting off Jacen's back? Look, so what, Ben knows a couple of advanced Force powers. I don't see any harm in that. It's not like he's teaching Ben how to conjure Force lightning, flow walk or anything, he's teaching him basic stuff and giving him stuff he reckons Ben will be able to make the most use of. And Jacen is less in the light side than the rest of us, true, but I reckon that might be useful, because it gives Ben more perspective. And I know Jacen has done some questionable stuff, true, but then again, so have you. Remember the argument you and Ben had last year about killing the enemy? He rightly pointed out that you killed millions when you destroyed the Death Star, and that you ruined trillions of lives when you redeemed Vader and helped him kill the Emperor. From a certain point of view that could be morally questionable. Your experiences are moulded by the fact that you had two wise and enigmatic Jedi masters training you. Jacen isn't quite so mystical, and Ben, being like me, wouldn't have much patience for that sort of teaching anyway. There are other ways of becoming Jedi than the Obi Wan and Yoda approach. Look at Jaden Korr, he wasn't trained conventionally, for that matter neither was Kyle, and they've both turned out into two of our best Jedi."

Luke looked at his shoes and grinned a little at her.

"So basically you're saying Jacen has to follow his own path to mastery and Ben has to follow his own path to knighthood and until such a time as something does go wrong, I should just back off, keep my nose out of their business and shut the hell up?"

"In a word: yes." Mara said with a slight smile, and Leia, in front of them, turned away from her chat with Lumiya to fix her brother with a steely glare.

"And if you want to avoid a repeat of Caedus, I agree. Back off, or his sacrifice this time will be you. And I never actually explained this...but the reason Jacen turned dark was to stop himself having to fight you and losing you. You might want to take that in consideration." She said tartly, and Lumiya winked at her. She then looked up at the sloping spiral staircase ceiling and commented loudly:

"Bet you feel like rancor spit now!"

Luke glared at the back of her head and Han and K'kruhk sniggered behind him, and he did feel ashamed. And after all, aside from teaching Ben a few more eccentric or advanced powers, Jacen was a good master for Ben. And he knew that. Perhaps the problem was Luke didn't trust himself. He didn't trust himself to trust Jacen's tutelage of Ben, afraid that one or both of them, kids he loved, would turn out like Gantoris, or Kueller, or Alema. It meant that two of the most potentially powerful Jedi in the Order weren't constrained by traditional teaching, or where he could keep an eye on things. And it bothered him. Sighing, he resolved to talk to Jacen properly, apologise for trying to kill him, thank him for giving him a well deserved smack on the nose (which still hurt) and then sit down and find out exactly what Jacen planned to teach Ben, without making it sound like he was checking up on him, because that would just annoy the two of them. And, from the looks his irate wife was giving him, he would also have to grovel to Ben and apologise for nearly decapitating him, which he supposed wasn't on the good father's to do list. And if he dropped a hint of how proud he actually was of Ben, because he was, he was proud of him and Jacen, that might not go amiss.

K'kruhk watched happily as Ben and Zekar chatted, heading down the stairs. It was good for him to have someone else his own age to talk to for a change. And considering he was a Sith, he wasn't that bad, he'd helped them out in the battle and seemed more than willing to help the group. Which of course presented an interesting question of what to do with the lad.

"Really? Cool!" Zekar exclaimed as Ben explained what he had done on Tatooine to bring down the skyhopper.

"Teenagers." Han said in amusement, and K'kruhk cocked an eyebrow.

"Indeed? I heard rumours about you when you were a young lad, with a Wookiee called Dewlanna and a man named Shrike..." he said enigmatically, and Han glowered.

The boys continued chatting, showing off to each other as they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, revealing two large doors set into the floor.

"How do we get in there?" Alema asked, knocking on the door.

"We've never been in, to go in is an act of desecration! Besides, I think we need the holocron." Zekar explained, and looked on in awe as Lumiya pulled it from her compartment.

"Wow. They wouldn't have killed you if they saw you with that, that marks you as the true Dark Lord of the Sith according to our myths." He said, impressed, and she activated it.

"Ah, child, you seem to have survived the trials of my tomb. I am impressed." The holo of Andeddu greeted.

"We have. Now Lord Andeddu, speak the words and open your tomb!" she commanded.

"As the reigning Dark Lord commands." Andeddu responded, and the holo muttered something in Sith, and the great doors swung open, revealing a dark room below.

"Now what?" Han asked, peering into the tomb hesitantly.

"We go in." Lumiya said, and shoved him into the tomb, making him yelp in surprise, as the others all leapt down into the dark tomb.

Zekar began lighting the torches along the wall, revealing the state of the tomb. Cracks riddled the floor, with thin rivers of lava flowing by beneath them. Around the edges of the wall were hundreds of books, scrolls, tablets and talismans, all of which could be very useful in their search for Abeloth, and to Lumiya. In the centre of the room was an ornately carved tomb, a large black edifice marked with a face on two sides, and an emblem on the front.

"Darth Andeddu. Alright, let's see what we have." K'kruhk said as he and the others, Lumiya and Alema looking at the room greedily, got to work.

Ben and Zekar looked at the tomb curiously. There was something fascinating about such things to kids of their age after all.

"It's weird to think that he's actually in there." Ben said curiously, walking around the tomb, while Lumiya and Luke argued about a scroll she wanted to take.

"Yeah. My whole life, my whole cult's life, was dedicated to keeping him safe. Weird huh?" Zekar asked, and his hand ran over a slight dip in the emblem of the tomb.

"What's that for?" Ben asked curiously, as he fiddled with Andeddu's holocron, which he had picked up when the others hadn't been looking.

"Don't know. Maybe it's for the holocron?" Zekar supposed, and Ben shrugged, and getting fed up of holding it, put the holocron into the lock.

"BEN! NO!" Lumiya screeched in horror.

There was a loud clunk from the tomb.

"Uh oh..." Ben said, as he backed away from the tomb.

Then suddenly a skeletal arm, ringed with emaciated flesh, erupted from the tomb, and grabbed hold of Zekar's neck. He cried out, and suddenly red energy streamed from his eyes, nose and mouth, and then wrenched Zekar's neck, and with a sickening crack his body fell to the floor. The door of the tomb then crumbled, shattered, and the pieces were blown outwards, forcing them all to duck.

Ben looked in horror at Zekar's crumpled body, and then his insides froze as he looked at the tomb. The thing that had just sucked the life out of Zekar was standing up. Darth Andeddu had risen again.

He was still skeletal looking, his body much like that of the cultists. A tattered robe hung around his midsection, embossed with a metallic emblem. In his hand was a large sceptre, topped with a large red crystal. Andeddu's face was also sunken and skull like, wrapped in a hat, and his eyes were a glowing red.

"Ah, so these are the fools who have discovered my great secret." He purred, his voice dry and thin, but full of malice.

The group all came to the front of the tomb, their sabers igniting, while Jacen turned in exasperation to Ben.

"How many times have I told you? Don't touch!" he said irritably as he helped Ben back to his feet.

"Darth Andeddu." Lumiya said in wonder as she observed what Ben and Zekar had inadvertently unleashed.

Andeddu looked at them all in disdain.

"But how?" Han demanded, his blaster pointed at Andeddu.

"His essence was within the holocron. When it was placed on the tomb, it went back into its master, returning him to life once more." K'kruhk explained and Andeddu gave a mirthless laugh.

"Indeed Jedi. Why are you robbers looting my tomb?" he demanded, tightening his grip on his sceptre.

Lumiya narrowed her eyes angrily.

"There is a threat loose in the galaxy. An ancient evil coming from the Maw, and we must find how to destroy it before it destroys the entire galaxy, Jedi, Sith, life itself."

Whatever the long dead Sith Lord had been expecting it hadn't been that. He looked at Lumiya, his red eyes glowing brighter.

"The Demon of the Dark...it is but a tale to frighten the Massassi into obeying, promises of what would happen if they ever betrayed us, they would be destroyed by her. The sect that worshipped her was destroyed before I left Korriban." He hissed, and Luke stepped forward.

"You know what she is?" he demanded of the zombie, who surveyed him, as if sizing him up, then agreed to part with information.

"A group made it out to a sea of holes in space...there they learned of an ancient and powerful creature, supposedly stronger than any Sith Lord, than myself, than Muur, than Dreypa, than XoXaan. Their group, led by that heretic Ajunta Pall, returned, speaking of this dread power, saying she had powers beyond any Sith, claiming this dread creature could perform feats detailed in some of my scrolls by others during the schism. He was recycling all the tales of the masters of the Legions of Lettow, rallying people to his cause, as many of our dim witted Massassi started to believe in this creature, fearing that he could command this great power, beyond even that of their masters. Obviously, we couldn't allow this, and agreed that he had to be stopped before his heresy started a revolt against our power. Gathering together, we destroyed him. I myself sliced his head from his shoulders." Andeddu said with relish.

"But you admit she might exist?" K'kruhk asked, and Andeddu laughed, a horrible throaty noise.

"Jedi fool! She was just a tale Pall started to try and take control of the Sith! And if you believe there is much of use here, aside from records of Pall's movements and records of the Legions, your trip was wasted. As were your lives!" he roared, and with no warning at all Andeddu sent a powerful stream of Force lightning at K'kruhk.

K'kruhk howled as the pain racked his body and he was thrown across the room, slamming to the ground heavily, moaning weakly, his robes and fur smoking.

"Lord Andeddu..." Lumiya snapped, but he looked upon her with disdain.

"You proclaim yourself a Dark Lord of the Sith child, but compared to me, you are nothing!" he sneered, looking at her metallic limbs.

Lumiya narrowed her eyes, drawing her whip.

"I am the true Dark Lord of the Sith." She said spitefully, her whip springing to life.

Andeddu scoffed as Luke lit his saber.

"And I am the Grand Master of the Jedi." He sneered, and Andeddu laughed.

"Puny Jedi, your powers are nothing compared to mine. All the knowledge within this tomb, all the power...it is mine! The Sith's secrets are mine to command, to control. I have knowledge of powers and rituals that would make your head implode...if I were to share any. But knowledge is power, and a true Sith does not share power!" he snarled and leapt to the top of his tomb while the group rallied against him.

"Alright bub, we have enough Sith going, so just get the hell back into your crate." Han said, raising his blaster.

Andeddu gestured, and a wreath of flame leapt out from one of the torches, smacking Han in the chest and dropping him beside K'kruhk, his chest smouldering and groaning slightly.

"Han!" Leia said in shock, then panicked as she saw Jaina and Jacen both spring for Andeddu, who laughed. He gestured again, and dark tendrils emitted from his hand and they entered Jacen's head through his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. He screamed in pain, and a second later the tendrils dropped him, and Leia was shocked to see that his eyes had gone pure white, no irises or pupils at all, and Andeddu then blasted him over to lie with Han and K'kruhk. His tendrils then wrapped around Jaina, pulling tight, and then he slammed her several times into the ground, before he threw her across the room to join the pile of defeated combatants.

"If this is what the Jedi of this time have to offer, the Sith have nothing to fear." He taunted.

Luke, Mara, Leia, Alema and Lumiya all exchanged worried glances. Andeddu then turned his attention to Ben, who was coming round behind him, trying to stick his saber into the Sith's back.

"Nice try boy." He sneered, and a pillar of lava shot up from the cracks in the floor, and with another gesture he crashed Ben into the wall and rapidly cooling lava turned into magma manacles, pinning Ben to the wall to watch what was about to happen.

"Ben!" Mara yelled in a panic, and dashed to her son, but the next thing she knew, the shards from the tomb had surrounded her, knocking her blade from her hand and imprisoning her in a cell of rubble.

Alema then fired a poison dart at him, but Andeddu gestured again, and this time dark energy spilled from each of the wounds she had sustained, making her scream in pain, and Andeddu smiled smugly as she dropped to the floor writhing, and he sent her over to the others.

Luke, Leia and Mara readied themselves, but the next thing Leia knew she was flying to the others, and suddenly found herself unable to move, trapped in some strange purple field. Andeddu laughed cruelly.

"Aunt Leia!" Ben wailed, trying to free himself, knowing he had gotten everyone killed, but it was to no avail, the magma preventing him from moving, and his mother also unable to move.

Andeddu then hopped down from his tomb, leering at Luke and Lumiya.

"Let us match the power of Darth Andeddu, Immortal God-King of Prakith, against the vaunted powers of the Dark Lord of the Sith and the Grand Master of the Jedi!" he said and abruptly, the room around them disappeared.

Leia and the others were all gone. Luke and Lumiya stood on a small island of rock each, while Andeddu stood on a slightly bigger one where his tomb had been a moment before. All around the walls, his books and scrolls were still there, dark knowledge he could call on at any second.

"What the hell?" Luke asked, looking around, and then looking at Lumiya in surprise as she shut down her whip.

And then, abruptly, he felt her voice in his head.

"_He isn't interested in a physical battle, a battle of swords. He wants a battle of minds. He attacked the others with Force attacks, not his sceptre or a lightsaber. He's like a Jedi Consular, he focuses more on the mind and the Force than on the saber and battle. This, I'm willing to bet, is an illusion. All we need to do is use it against him._" She explained, and Luke too shut off his saber.

Just as Andeddu blasted a stream of lightning at him. Luke easily caught the attack on his hand, and reverted it back towards its master, who deflected it into the steaming lava, and he nodded in approval.

"You are powerful Jedi, but I am the true Sith here! You are a slave to the light side, and you could be so much more!" he crowed, and abruptly, a silooth composed of lava emerged from the river flowing beneath their feet.

Lumiya moved, summoning two large rocks that she crushed the silooth's head between. She then shattered the rocks and sent the pieces hurtling at Andeddu, who looked at her with a new found respect.

"I underestimated you child. Your powers are great for one so maimed. And I sense the true heart of a Sith. Join me child, and together, we will rule the galaxy." He said, his voice hypnotic, even so that Luke felt slightly sleeping upon hearing it.

Shaking his head, Luke stretched out with the Force, crushing the stand Andeddu was on. Andeddu cursed, and the next thing they knew, they were trapped in a maelstrom of flying fiery rocks.

"You both have doubts, and that is your weakness! You Jedi, doubt your ability to lead, your ability to trust, the ability of your son and nephew, and that weakens you! You fear the dark side, when you should look into it for strength!" Andeddu roared, and Luke came to his knees as he felt a terrible clawing pain in his skull, his doubts trying to break free.

"And you girl are slave to an outdated dogmatic code! You doubt your ability to hold on to the throne, fear the usurper and the alien will topple you!" he barked, and Lumiya screeched in pain as she too sunk to her knees. The rocks they were on began to melt, and it was the fear of imminent death, the fear of not being able to see Mara and Ben again, that spurred Luke to his feet.

Gathering his strength he unleashed a mighty Force push, which Andeddu countered with one of his own. An orange beam of energy then lanced from his hand, headed straight for Luke, but Lumiya, recovering, summoned it to her where it diffused against her metallic limb.

"Impossible...the life should have drained from you." Andeddu said in wonder.

"Can't drain what isn't there." She gloated, and he unleashed a massive Force storm, lightning cracking, and hurled it at her.

Luke then fired a burst of Electric Judgement, his green sparks, colliding with Andeddu's chest. He gave a roar, which made Luke grab his ears in pain, and Andeddu laughed. As the noise dimmed, he heard Andeddu cackle insanely, and a wet plop.

"You are all alone now Jedi! Your Sith friend is dead!" Andeddu scoffed, and Luke whirled around to see that Lumiya was indeed gone.

A strange sensation filled Luke. Horror, shock...and remorse of all things. But then, the lava parted, and Lumiya was there, right as rain and was walking calmly towards a disbelieving Andeddu.

"No! That's impossible! You are dead!" he said, and there was a definite trace of fear in his voice.

"Apparently not. You want to know what I think your highness? I think you're a coward." Lumiya said, and she leapt up onto Andeddu's platform, her metallic hand heaving him up by the neck.

"You fled from Korriban, and here, you hid from your servants, cowering in the dark." Luke said, and he seized Andeddu in a Force grip, and the Sith Lord was kicking and screaming, trying to free himself. He fired jet after jet of Force lightning, but Lumiya calmly used the Force to turn them back on their owner, shocking him instead.

"You are a fearful, pathetic fool Andeddu. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith now." Lumiya gloated, and she used the Force to gather all the scrolls, tomes, tablets and all the other knowledge he had accumulated into the air.

"No, my stores! You need that, you need it!" Andeddu cried in a panic.

"Nah, I don't think we need anything from you, not such a lowly and cowardly Sith Lord. You make Kaan look brave." Luke said, flicking the holocron into the lava.

"NO!" he screamed.

"I will remove all trace of you from the Sith, while Luke deals with the Jedi. You will be nothing more than a memory, and when we all die, no one shall remember you!" Lumiya crowed, dropping the collected knowledge into the lava.

"You fool! What have you done?" Andeddu wailed in terror as his works disintegrated.

"This." Luke said with a sort of finality, and he dropped a screaming Andeddu into the lava, his hands still firing lightning, and with one electrified bubble of lava, he was gone.

And suddenly the room returned to normal. Luke and Lumiya turned to see the others, and the magma chains broke, allowing Ben to drop to the floor. Mara's prison collapsed, and Leia was freed from stasis. K'kruhk heaved himself up, still slightly singed, while a burnt Han was helped to his feet by a battered Jaina. Jacen's eyes went back to normal he got Alema back on her feet too.

"Where's Andeddu?" K'kruhk asked weakly, and Luke pointed to the millennia old skeleton.

"He believed a little too strongly in his own illusion." Lumiya explained, pointing to all the knowledge Andeddu had stored, all unharmed in reality, just destroyed in the illusion.

"It was too much for him, then I took great delight in dropping the cowardly bastard in the lava!" Luke said brightly, and he was shocked when Jacen hugged him, but happy.

"No one beats uncle Luke!" he crowed cheerfully.

"Damn right." Luke said, winking at Jacen, whose face went grim and he went over to kneel beside Ben, and gathered him into a hug.

"Shh, it's ok, you couldn't have stopped it, you weren't to know." He said soothingly, while Ben tried to hide the tears of shock and remorse from the others.

"How am I not dead?" Han asked, his chest burning hot but not actually harmed, and that sensation itself was beginning to fade.

"Because, aside from the lightning and the tendrils, most of his attacks against you guys were illusions. Now he's gone, they're disappearing." Luke explained.

"Extraordinary. You two have just destroyed a millennia old Sith Lord. You make a good team." K'kruhk said, earning him a reproving glare from Mara.

Lumiya winked at Luke, making his wife further annoyed.

"Alright, let's get out of here. Comm the droids and have them bring everything here, I'm fed up of this rotten place." Leia said, looking at her upset nephew and sighing.

Would he never be able to find anyone his own age he could just be himself with? Sighing again, she started collecting the things Lumiya had earmarked for taking with them.

XX

The ship had left Prakith, and was now in low orbit. After a long talk with Jacen, in which Jacen had tried to convince his little cousin that Zekar's death was an accident and that there was no way it could have been prevented but Ben still blamed himself, both for Zekar's death and for Andeddu nearly killing the others, and had cried himself to sleep, his dreams haunted by dreams of Darth Andeddu rising from the tomb and his father and Lumiya fighting him. After Ben had went to sleep, Jacen had sat and talked for ages with Luke, with Luke promising, after Jacen went over the basics of what he planned to do with Ben, to back off and leave the boys alone, apologising for his actions and for fighting Jacen. The two of them had then started talking like they used to, but Luke noted with amusement that Jacen didn't apologise for punching him in the nose. After all, he had deserved it. Meanwhile, Lumiya, Alema and a singed K'kruhk looked through the scrolls and books that they had accumulated. Han and Leia meanwhile were in the cockpit, doing something that would make Jaina go red with embarrassment if she saw them at it, but they were quite safe as she and Mara were playing dejarik. Artoo and Threepio however, were on the edge of a breakthrough.

"A small burst transmitter on board you say? But how?" Threepio asked, and his counterpart whistled at him.

"So it both receives and sends communications, but is so small it doesn't register, and they are simply log entries that are transmitted? Intriguing. Come along Artoo, we must alert Captain Solo." Threepio ordered bossily, and Artoo beeped urgently, and the protocol droid looked at his counterpart.

"You suspect it belongs to Mistress Lumiya? Oh dear oh dear, they won't be happy about that." He said woefully, and then he was taken aback as Artoo trundled along to the cargo hold, which was where Lumiya and the others were.

However, Lumiya was not in said cargo hold. She was actually in the loo, and her earpiece was chirping bloody murder.

"Alright, what is it?" she hissed quietly.

And to her great annoyance, Krayt's voice came over the channel.

"Guess what I have just found." He said smugly in a sing song voice, and Lumiya, in no mood for guessing games, grunted in irritation.

"A brain with any luck. You might try and cover your tracks a bit better you idiot, I had to reveal to the Skywalkers about your existence." She snarled, and that shut Krayt up at least for a moment.

"You did what? Lumiya..." he barked, and she could feel her nostrils flaring angrily.

"I had no choice. And let me guess, you've found some other dark side group that you have recruited to join your faction of heretics." She said disdainfully.

Krayt laughed softly.

"Oh yes. Have you ever heard of the planet Kesh?" he asked.

Lumiya racked her brains, but had to admit, the name didn't ring a bell.

"No, should I have?" she asked, and Krayt laughed harder.

"We both should have. You see, Ship said he could feel a group of Sith rising in power, and it wasn't Korriban, so I had him take me there. And he brought me here, to Kesh. An undiscovered planet. Which is full of Sith." He said greedily.

"What do you mean?" Lumiya asked breathlessly. If he had found a planet, full of Sith from whichever era, not only could it upset her plan, but it could also give him a lot more power and make him a lot more difficult to destroy when the time came. But then again, the fact that he had seen fit to tell her, even if it was to gloat, did point to the fact that he didn't fully know what to make of his discovery, and that too could be used to suit her ends. And still, a discovery of a planet full of Sith could be very interesting from a Sith point of view, very interesting and useful indeed.

"A race of Sith. Apparently, a warship crashed here during the Great Hyperspace War, and they got stranded here. They subjugated the local populace, and now they are basically a theocratic society, with the Sith at the top calling all the shots. There could be as many as three million here, and that's just the descendants of the Sith, never mind the native species, the Keshiri, which are all fairly Force sensitive. A bunch of human Sith, waiting for us." Krayt gloated, and Lumiya was torn between screaming in vexation or whooping for joy. An entire planet full of Sith, well this was momentous news!

"And that isn't all. Apparently, a couple of years ago, a ship landed here to affect repairs. They killed the crew and have been poaching ships ever since, and now they have a rather sizeable armada. I've recruited them into my Sith, but their beliefs aren't like yours or mine, they follow the rule of a Grand Lord, their system is rather like the Jedi, the Grand Lord calls the shots, and it's quite clear he holds himself as an equal ally rather than a subservient, despite me being the Dark Lord of the Sith." Krayt explained, and Lumiya was so taken aback by all this news, that she didn't even bother to correct him.

A planet full of Sith. With a fleet, and the majority of them able to use the Force, and would have a hatred for the Jedi. It was like the clone army during the Clone Wars, there when you needed it without anyone being any the wiser beforehand. Only this wouldn't bite the ones using it on the ass. She would make sure of that.

"Well done Darth Krayt." She said, the first time she had ever used his full title.

"I'm flattered. I'm sending you the coordinates now. Vol has rallied most of the armada to us, but it's clear that he wants to do his own thing, which could prove detrimental but if you wish to explore the world for yourself..." Krayt said, a hint of malice in his voice, one that Lumiya failed to notice.

"Thank you Krayt. You have done well." She purred, and the communication dropped.

A planet full of Sith. A Lost Tribe, waiting in the shadows to be discovered. Why the hell hadn't she taken Ship when she had found him and travelled the galaxy looking for dark side groups? Typically, it was because she was busy setting up her plan, making links, amassing funds and resources. And now Krayt had his hands on the Tribe. However, no situation lasted forever, and she was nothing if not adaptable. She would find a way to make this work to her advantage.

She opened the door, to find Luke, Mara and K'kruhk all waiting for her, sabers drawn, with Artoo beeping triumphantly beside them and Threepio hovering nervously behind him. Alema was also there, but all she did was shove past Lumiya and enter the loo herself, sighing in relief as she did so.

"Artoo has picked up a burst transmission, and we know it's coming from you. Who are you communicating with?" Luke demanded, and Lumiya shot a look of pure venom at Artoo.

"I might have known you would throw a spanner in the works, you stunted, rusty, beeping little can opener!" she hissed, and Artoo beeped at her, a clear astromech laugh.

"Lumiya..." Mara said sharply and the Sith hissed.

"I suppose he picked up the burst transmission. Remember the implant Palpatine was going to have installed on all of his hands before Vader scattered his atoms at Endor?" she asked, and Mara frowned at the memory.

"Yeah, imaginatively called the Emperor's Ear. I thought it was scrapped before it was implemented?" she asked, her face puzzled, and Lumiya nodded.

"It was. I found the designs and redid them, so now I am in constant contact with others. One such person is Darth Krayt." She said, and they all looked at her warily, as she swept past them, headed for the cockpit.

"Oi! You're not meant to be getting messages!" Luke called, and she grunted in exasperation. That bloody astro droid was a jinx. Over the course of his existence, how many times had he buggered up the galaxy by saving someone? Honestly.

"I can't help it Skywalker, so there's no point whining about it." She responded curtly.

"I thought you didn't like Krayt?" K'kruhk asked curiously.

"I don't, however as he has the wit and sophistication of a bantha, he saw fit to share a vital piece of information with me." Lumiya said, and opened the cockpit door, to see Leia in Han's lap, kissing him deeply, her hand disappearing into his shirt.

"Oh my eyes!" Lumiya wailed, and Han glared at her and the others, and Leia reluctantly hopped off.

"In our defence, we didn't expect you to come barging in." Leia grumbled, going red and sitting back in the co-pilots seat.

"Oh no, I've flown this ship! That is just...ew." Luke said in disgust, and K'kruhk shook his head.

"What are you teenagers? Um Leia, you might want to, you know, tidy yourself up." He suggested and Leia turned away while she did so, blushing furiously.

"Alright, what do you want Lumiya, that couldn't wait?" Han demanded grumpily, and the Sith, images of what could have happened had they not interrupted going through her mind, shuddered.

"Artoo traced the burst transmissions. Lumiya both sends and receives them, and she can't stop them." Mara explained, looking at the Sith in annoyance.

"Well excuse me for having a life." She responded tartly, and Leia, having tidied herself up, spun to look at her.

"How do we know she can't stop them?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because it's implanted in her brain. The Emperor designed them so that they would always be able to give or receive orders over distances that the Force, Vader or the local moff couldn't cover, and that wouldn't interrupt you when on a mission or in a firefight." Mara explained, and Lumiya grinned, knowing how much it must be tormenting Mara that she had to take Lumiya's side.

"Oh fine then. So what was Krayt telling you?" Luke demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"Krayt? The other Sith? The one she hates?" Han asked, hating being out of the loop.

"Yes." Lumiya responded, entering the coordinates into the nav computer.

"What are you doing now?" Leia asked in a bored voice.

"Krayt just called me with a very interesting piece of information. He has just found a planet full of Sith." Lumiya said, spinning around to see their faces as this news sunk in.

Luke went the bone white colour of a brand new ISD. Mara took a stagger back and sunk into a chair. Han groaned and rested his head on the dashboard. Leia swore and shook her head, and K'kruhk threw a hand out against the doorframe.

"An entire planet?" he demanded weakly.

"Yes. From what Krayt told me, you could very well have millions of Sith now running amok. And in the last few years they have been building up an armada, which is of considerable size, and which has now regrettably joined Darth Krayt." She said with distaste as she sat up on the dashboard, though she was enjoying the reactions of the others.

Han turned to Luke, a small grin on his face.

"Boy you really have been sleeping on the job!" he crowed, and Luke and Mara both glared daggers at him.

"I propose we go to Kesh." Lumiya said, and Leia looked at her sceptically.

"Because that's such a good idea. If we go to Kesh, we'll be in Sith central, and if Krayt has gotten to them..." Leia began, but Lumiya cut her off.

"I believe I can get round that. Krayt may have proclaimed himself the Dark Lord of the Sith to the Tribe, however, Zekar said that he felt lighter than me. If I can use that, I can convince them that I am the _true_ Lord of the Sith. And if they kill all of you, well that would just be unfortunate." She said musingly, and K'kruhk arched an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sure that will be a great comfort."

"But where did they come from?" Luke demanded, slamming his fist on the back of Mara's chair.

"Apparently, they came from a ship that crashed in the Great Hyperspace War, they subjugated the people and have been growing ever since. Which means, by all rights, they should follow me, as I am the strongest of the two of us." She explained.

Han looked at Luke, who was frowning deeply.

"I suppose we should go and check it out. And if they come from the Great Hyperspace War, they might know stuff about Abeloth." He reasoned, and Luke had to admit, he had a point.

"Maybe. Problem is, we now know of two large Sith threats, meaning we have no choice. We have to tell Chief Ak'la and Admiral Niathal, especially if the two threats have joined forces." Luke said, but Mara, to Han's surprise, shook her head.

"Not yet. Not until we've checked out Kesh and have a clearer idea of who and what we're dealing with. And, remember we'd have to explain how we found out, which means explaining about Abeloth and her." She said, pointing at Lumiya, who exchanged a look with Leia. However, while Leia looked worried, Lumiya had to work to keep triumph from her eyes. That news was very useful, and she made a mental note to send that little titbit to another agent as soon as they were looking the other way.

"If Ak'la finds out you're keeping stuff from her, and it backfires..." Leia began, and to her credit Mara did look slightly disgruntled.

"I know. She's a decent head of state and I don't particularly like keeping stuff from her, and if the Senate finds out, well they're pissed with her already because of her little bit of skulduggery at Orvax, but I don't see any reason to start a panic just yet, not with the slavery question and a rogue Vong warship shooting around the place."

Luke growled in frustration, and looked to Lumiya, bitterness etching his features.

"Alright, let's go and see these Sith. And on the way you are going to tell us everything you know about the One Sith." He said, and Han took the ship to lightspeed.

XX

Krayt watched in delight as the last of the ships the Tribe were sending to Korriban darted into lightspeed. This was excellent. Just under a million people inhabited Kesh, and to his great delight, the vast majority of the fighting forces were even now on their way to Korriban to supplement his already large fleet. When the time came the Alliance, and Lumiya, wouldn't know what had hit them. Krayt looked out at the ships still orbiting Kesh. All that remained of their large fleet to protect their homeworld were five of their ChaseMaster frigates, four Etti transports, three armed freighters, a Marauder frigate and the command ship was a Citadel cruiser from the Corporate Sector. The rest of their fleet, which included a Recusant frigate, two VSDs and an ancient Sith Dreadnaught would now be bolstering Krayt's fleet.

However, despite the enormity of his discovery, Krayt had concerns. When he had arrived at Kesh, he had been made to feel welcome, and they had treated him like the true Dark Lord of the Sith, as they had probably been taught over the millennia. However, it was clear that Grand Lord Vol and the Circle of Lords were a little disgruntled at having the one to whom they owed allegiance appear now. For the last two years, they had been preparing themselves, ready to make their own name in the galaxy and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with. It was clear that Vol was an ambitious man. He had his own designs for his faction, and did not seem to approve of the Rule of One, though Krayt was mollified slightly by the fact that he wouldn't much like the Rule of Two either. Vol's ambition could very well cause havoc with the plan they were now all involved in, not to mention reveal the Sith to the galaxy at large before they were ready. As such, Krayt needed a way to ensure their...compliance.

Krayt looked at the small holo unit he had brought aboard Ship. As he had suspected, the vessel was indeed a good replacement for stasis, and it enhanced his dark side powers. It also, due to the sentient part of the vessel, allowed him to locate dark side groups, and he had been surprised by how many he had found. Also, within his meditations, he had identified Dark Jedi scattered across the galaxy, and had had Wyyrlok send emissaries to ask these beings to join his rising Sith group, or kill them of course. So far, he had found a few members of the Blackguard, a group long since thought destroyed, a few members of the Dark Force religion, most of the Malevolence cult and the Tribe. All would now contribute to the glory of the One Sith, the defeat of the Jedi...and the destruction of the Rule of Two.

However, first of all he had to make sure the Tribe behaved itself. Activating the comm., he was greeted by the Trandoshan face of Darth Cyclone.

"My lord Krayt." He hissed, bowing respectfully.

"Lord Cyclone. I trust you have heard of our new recruits?"

"It is an amazing find my lord. But how might I serve you?" he asked, his scaly hand, clasping his lightsaber, ready for battle as always.

"Our new recruits have but one flaw Lord Cyclone...they are ambitious. And that cannot be tolerated. We must act to ensure that their ambition is cooled and their desire for revenge is made to serve us." Krayt said, and the Trandoshan hissed in pleasure.

"You wish me to attack Kesh don't you?" Cyclone asked eagerly, and Krayt nodded.

"Indeed Lord Cyclone. If the planet is destroyed, we can blame the Jedi, and bind the Tribe to us completely, while making them stronger for the anger they will feel towards our enemies. All that remains is a token task force, and much of the woman, elderly and far too young. They have enough women in the fleet that they can serve our long term needs. As such, I want you to obliterate Kesh. Destroy all of their cities, flatten their homes and kill their populace. This is my will Lord Cyclone." Krayt ordered.

Cyclone bowed low in the holocam once more.

"As my lord commands it, so it shall be. I shall take three Star Destroyers and leave at once my lord." Cyclone said, his tongue tasting the air, tasting the cold sense of purpose that preceded murder.

Krayt smiled. One of his most adept servants, he knew his Fist would not fail him.

"Excellent Lord Cyclone. And if you hurry, you may find yourself with a very exclusive privilege. Killing Lady Lumiya...and the Skywalkers."

Cyclone's eyes widened in delight as the holo cut off, and Krayt once again immersed himself in the dark energies swirling through ship. He could feel it flowing through his tired, beaten and broken body, revitalising him, giving him strength. Stretching his feelings, he could feel the dark heart of the Force, the One Sith on Korriban, getting stronger by the day due to his teachings, based on the teachings of XoXaan. He could feel the massive cloning cylinders, the Spaarti cylinders that he had had stolen during the Vong War, deep in the tombs of Tulak Hord and Marka Ragnos, churning out clone after clone, under the watchful eye of Darth Myndar, creating clones to fuel the massive fleet in preparation for the war effort. He could feel the large fleet of the Lost Tribe, the anger and simmering hatred of Darish Vol as they travelled towards Korriban. He could feel Vongerella, far off in the Unknown Regions, triumphant. He could feel Lumiya, callously amused. And then he could feel all the little bits and bobs, all the little dark holdings of power dotted across the galaxy.

And in the background, he could feel her. Her want, her need, her hunger...her echo, getting stronger. Abeloth. No wonder she had the Jedi worried. But, while they dealt with her, Krayt would dedicate himself to both their downfall.

"Well Ship, where next?"

"_We go to the world of Recopia, to find the Seyugi Dervish. If you pass the test, if you free them, they too shall serve you_."

"Then lead on."

**Things are hotting up!**

**Seems the family still has issues to deal with beneath the surface, or was that just Lumiya's machinations?**

**A pitched battle with an ancient Sith Lord clearly showed just who is the Grand Master and who is the Dark Lord, but Andeddu is nothing compared to the threat still out there.**

**And now Kesh is coming into the story! Can anyone make a guess as to who joins the crew over the next few chapters?**

**Please read and review!**


	13. Episode II: Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

Within the Maw, her power grew. She could feel it. All these years, she had been trapped here. Then, the blissful release had come a few years ago, and she knew the Centerpoint lock must have been destroyed, allowing her to start trying to break out of her prison. And now, she had Sinkhole Station within her grasp. She could feel them, those that worshipped her and the shadows but dared not come closer, the Mind Walkers, up there. She would soon have them. After all, she had foreseen that she would have guests very soon. While that was good in some ways, in some ways it wasn't. She knew these guests didn't seek to help her, free her, comfort her, not like the young ones she had influenced across the galaxy. After all, her influence was spreading, not just to ones who had been near her sanctum, but to those that touched the dark side too, and it pleased her, feeling so many minds out there for her to control. And, then there was the fire headed boy, and she had a fondness for him, just like the bright blue man, and the young grey one. But the fire head, he was most special.

However, he was with the coming guests, and they didn't want to help her. They wanted to harm her. However she had seen trials in their way. But it was always best to be sure.

As such, she gathered her strength and ploughed on, slamming against the invisible walls that kept her prisoner here within the Maw.

XX

The badly listing Mon Calamari Heavy Carrier _Blue Diver_ dropped out of lightspeed in the Roche system. The Heavy Carrier was a much larger version of the MC80 cruisers that had made up the bulk of the fleet of Endor, though the wings were now cavernous hangars, capable of carrying five squadrons a piece, and rather being mid ship now gave the front a Star Destroyer like appearance, like an arrow head. Created to serve as both a destroyer and as an escort carrier, the _Blue Diver _was one of five such ships that now littered the fleet of the Galactic Alliance.

On the bridge of the ship, the Duros Admiral Tarla Limpan looked at the readouts from the skirmish they had just gotten themselves caught up in. Assigned by Admiral Niathal to patrol the area in and around the Hydian Way, stretching from the border of Remnant space to the border of Mandalorian space, the Third Fleet was up to the challenge. However, it was a wide area to cover indeed, and the fleet was stretched incredibly thinly over the area.

However, a few hours ago, they had struck gold. As Master Skywalker had indicated, a Vong ship had turned up in the area. The problem was, it wasn't alone. A miid ro'ik cruiser was in and of itself bad enough. However, when it was flanked by a matalok and a gunship, tensions started to boil. Limpan had brought her cruiser in, firing warning shots, forcing the cruiser and the matalok into retreat. As they fled to deep space however, the gunship had gone on a suicide run, its molten cannons pelting magma at them as it went. Thanks to the actions of Darkshine Squadron, her resident E-Wing squadron, the gunship had been brought down after only causing a little bit of shield damage, its husk burnt out and floating in space. Just when they had been about to contact Admiral Niathal however, they had been ambushed. An old Saboath Squadron Destroyer had dropped out of nowhere, flanked by two Imperial II frigates. The attack had caught them completely by surprise, losing the cruiser an entire squadron of B-Wings and shredding apart a flight of Darkshine Squadron. Going to evasive action, Limpan had ordered the carrier to come about, just as the destroyer scored a lucky shot, puncturing the shields. Following the battle data of their command ship, the two frigates had also laid into her flagship, destroying the inertial dampeners and the gravity control matrix, sending the ship on a massive tilt, making it cruise lopsided. They had also caused significant damage to the structure of the starboard flank, taking out the communications relay in the process, and as soon as she had recovered her fighters, she had ordered a retreat, preventing any more damage to her cruiser, and had set them for friendly space.

The ship lumbered onward, and as they did so, the bridge was virtually silent, with only Admiral Limpan and her second in command, a young eager man called Baradis, talking.

"Any theories Admiral?" he asked the Duros, who nodded grimly.

"A few Captain. Well, at least on the Vong force we encountered." She said, and he leaned in close to hear her better.

"Well?" he asked, his eyes creased with worry, and Limpan couldn't blame him. His homeworld of Artorias had been one of the first to fall during the Vong War.

"Well, I matched the data that Master Skywalker sent Admiral Niathal about his encounter with a Vong destroyer, and surprise surprise, they didn't match. We've encountered two separate ships. And, on top of that, we also assumed we had taken down most of the mataloks in the latter stages of the Vong War. So, to me, that suggests that whoever is behind this group is either too small just to be one small pocket of resistance and is either a larger group made up of smaller groups, or, whoever is behind this rising Vong threat has been planning this for a while and is just now moving with stockpiled forces, either that or they've been busy since we first got wind of them." She said in a low voice, not wanting to alarm her bridge crew anymore than they were already.

"Great. Really great. And the bandits?" he asked, and his face fell, he had lost a friend in the squadron they had lost.

Limpan frowned as she leaned back in her seat, her eyes on the viewscreen.

"I believe they could be the result of Admiral Niathal's mission to wipe out the pirates. According to the information we have in the onboard databases, the destroyer that attacked us, while old, was called the _Governor_, which has been reported to be the flagship of the newly unified pirate group Wraith Squadron alerted us about. So by my reckoning, either they were there to find us and got lucky..."

"Or they were there for the same reason we were and wanted to help out a potential ally. According to Director Kalenda's reports, many of the pirates have former members of the Peace Brigade in them." Baradis finished, looking sour.

"Exactly." Limpan said grimly, leaning back in her seat.

She needed to talk to Admiral Niathal. Something was wrong out here, and they needed to report their findings, on both the Vong and the pirates.

"Admiral, we're receiving a pulse transmission from Nickel One!" her comm officer called.

"What does it read lieutenant?"

"The hive mother welcomes us to Roche, and is sending an escort squadron to flank us in. She also asks that we be patient, they have a rather large order of B-Wings to build for the Tenth fleet." He reported, and she nodded, and gave him a dour smile.

"Thank her for her hospitality, and ask if she would be so kind as to donate a squadron to us." She said wryly.

"Admiral, I'm picking up a large ship coming out of hyperspace." Her sensor officer, a Gand, reported.

And just as he finished saying so, a fully armed Imperial Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace and opened fire on the Roche asteroids, the ships within, and on the _Blue Diver_.

XX

Cronal, from his mechno-chair in his darkened quarters, smiled. His plan was on the move. This attack would heighten tensions between the Alliance and Empire, weaken Fett's hold on power and weaken his Mandalorian faction for Rhal, and to top it off it would also have ramifications for Alliance supply lines. His young face smiled, reaching his old eyes as turbolaser blasts pounded into the Roche asteroid field, destroying hangars full of B-Wing fighters before the hive mother even thought of scrambling them. The ship forges were the first hit by the weapons of the _Singularity_, breaking apart as the Star Destroyer closed in towards the middle of the belt. However, Cronal had spotted something that wasn't meant to be there, an Alliance warship. Checking the telemetry on it, he nodded in grim satisfaction. The flagship of the Third Fleet. Destroying that would be quite the coup.

"Focus fire power on the Alliance cruiser." He ordered into his comm, and settled back to watch the fireworks.

XX

Limpan swore as the Star Destroyer opened fire, hitting the ship forge where the new B-Wing squadrons bound for the Tenth fleet were being stored. Cursing, she had the cruiser come about and scrambled her fighters, the ships turbolaser fire beginning to fill the space between the _Blue Diver_ and the unmarked vessel.

"Any identification on it yet?" she asked, her hands tightly clasped behind her back as she watched the ISD deploy its bombers and interceptors, which her own fighters rushed to intercept.

"None Admiral, it's bizarre, it just isn't in our systems!" the sensor officer called, and Baradis frowned, checking the date with the officer.

"He's right Admiral, it's like this is a brand new ship straight off the assembly line. No encryption because they actually aren't flying any colours. We don't know what ship this is." He said, and Limpan turned to the two of them, her red eyes narrowed in irritation.

"We must have some idea, the ship is probably as old as I am! As such, it should be in the database, unless Admiral Pellaeon is hiding something from us." She said with a growl, and the sensor officer busied himself trying to find it once more.

The fighters collided in the space between the two cruisers, and Limpan knew that, even down a squadron, they should have little trouble with this dogfight. Her own ships outnumbered the TIEs three to two, and from the looks of the enemy performance, the fighters weren't accustomed to dogfights against the latest Alliance materiel. However, there was still the Star Destroyer to account for. A fully armed and operational _Imperial_ class Star Destroyer, while it may be nearly half a century old, the ship was by no means fit for the scrapheap. In fact, despite its age, it was probably in better shakes than her own vessel right now. Ordinarily, she wouldn't hesitate, but with the _Blue Diver_ already damaged, she didn't want to risk taking her vessel into a full fledged brawl with a lethal ISD.

"Bring us about and expose our top to the Star Destroy. Crank up all long range turbolasers and begin to open fire." Limpan ordered.

"Admiral, Nickel One has released a wing of B-Wings to aid us, and they report that other fighters are being scrambled from other asteroids. Also, four V-Wing transports are on their way, each giving us a half squadron, and a group of _Gatherer_ class transports are on their way from the edge of the system." Her comm officer reported, and she nodded.

However, while the reinforcements would be most welcome, there was still the fact that the ISD, which was still unnamed and untraced, had caused quite a lot of damage, and had vented a large part of Nickel One itself to space. Verpine shuttles trying to approach the ISD had been shot down, and ship forges had either been heavily damaged or destroyed, as the fires coming from many asteroids could attest. If she could only risk taking her cruiser in a little closer...

"Admiral, the Destroyer is coming right for us!" Baradis called urgently, and Limpan saw that the massive cruiser was bearing down on them, its weapons blazing as it approached.

"Alright, take evasive action! We need to hold it off until the Verpine forces arrive." Limpan ordered, not seeing any problem with that goal.

That was until her sensor officer piped up.

"Admiral, another ship is leaving hyperspace. It's another ISD." The Gand said grimly, and Limpan's mouth went thin as the new Star Destroyer leapt from hyperspace and to her great dismay, began discharging TIE Defenders.

XX

General Wethen grimaced as he saw what Cronal's ship was doing. The Roche asteroids were aflame, and there was an Alliance cruiser bearing down on Cronal. Which they couldn't have.

"Alert Colonel Vessery that he isn't to engage the Alliance forces. Guns, give them covering fire while they deal with the last of Cronal's fighters." He ordered, and smiled as the _Behemoth_ opened fire, green turbolaser blasts scattering the Alliance forces.

What was the old mad man up to? Clearly the fact that he must be close to death was affecting his sanity if he thought this attack would gain him anything, it was affecting his mind.

The _Singularity_ began to turn away from the _Blue Diver_, turning to face its cannons on this new, unknown threat.

"Ion cannons, fire at will on the _Singularity_, and we will have our prize!" Wethen ordered, and blue beams of energy lanced from his ship, slamming into the ISD.

From behind Cronal's ship, the Alliance commander clearly had the same idea. Now, it would be a race to see which faction would get their hand on Cronal's ship. And Wethen was determined that it wouldn't be the Alliance.

"Sir, Colonel Vessery reports that Cronal's fighters are done for and is requesting orders. No casualties reported!" his Rodian officer called, and Wethen smiled. Vessery's expertise had once more paid off.

"Excellent. Recall all fighters, and activate the hyperspace tug. The Alliance is not stealing my new Star Destroyer." Wethen said, and the Rodian nodded eagerly.

XX

Limpan had been worried when the other ISD had arrived, even more so when it had churned out Defenders of all things, and it was clear from their style that they would even give Rogue Squadron a run for their money, much to her discomfort.

However, her trepidation had changed to shock as the new ISD had opened fire on their nameless foe, which had ceased its attack on the asteroids and was now fighting off two cruisers and was badly outgunned.

"Admiral, Verpine forces ETA one minute!"

"Admiral, we have a reading on the newcomer, but it can't be right." Her encryption officer said, his green Zelosian eyes narrowed at the screen.

"How can't they be?"

"Because according to this, that ship is the _Devastator_, Darth Vader's former flagship, and it was destroyed at the Battle of Endor." The Zelosian said, and she looked at him in disbelief.

"Admiral, the original Destroyer is dead in space!" her Gand sensor officer reported.

"Ready tractor beams, I want to know who this guy is and I want to know now." She said grimly.

XX

Cronal cursed, slamming his hand into his mechno chairs arm rest. How could this be going so well then turn out so badly? And, as his ship went dark around him, he grimaced. If either side found the prisoner in the hold, or the two in solitary confinement...

"No!" he roared into the darkness.

XX

"General, we have the tug in place, and as soon as we come about we will be able to jump to lightspeed" Wethen's Rodian crewman reported, and Wethen smiled. Lumiya would be delighted.

"General, the Verpine have scrambled a response and the Alliance cruiser doesn't seem to want to let us get away." Another crewman called, and Wethen grinned tightly.

He knew that ordinarily the _Blue Diver_ would be more than a match for the _Behemoth_, more than a match for both ISDs actually. However, the ship had clearly sustained damage, and that was their one saving grace, as the opposing commander didn't seem to want to bring their ship into full out battle. However, there were still nine or so squadrons flying towards his flagship, and the swarm of Verpine ships was en route. They had outstayed their welcome.

"General, we are ready for the jump to lightspeed!"

"Engage."

And with a lurch, the _Behemoth _blasted forward, dragging the deactivated _Singularity_ behind it as it escaped.

XX

The holo was good quality, a testament to the grateful Verpine's repair skills. However, the quality of the holo did nothing to haze the look on the face of the ruling triumvirate of the Galactic Alliance. Chief Ak'la, Admiral Niathal and Director Belindi Kalenda had been contacted by Admiral Limpan as soon as they had gotten the _Blue Diver_ docked. And it was clear from their expressions that they weren't happy, weren't happy at all.

"You're certain of this Tarla?" Niathal asked grimly, her wide eyes narrowed at her Duros friend.

"Yes Cha. Vong forces, and then your pirate friends both within minutes of each other. I've sent you our battle data. I suspect that we either missed a rather large Vong enclave, or else they've been building while we've had our backs turned. And your pirate leader, Collonzas I think you called him, well he was definitely at the skirmish we had with the pirates. They got lucky in their encounter, so we withdrew to Roche."

"Where you were attacked by an unknown ISD." Kalenda reiterated.

Having more than proved herself during the First Corellian Insurrection, she had risen through the ranks during the Vong War and had eventually replaced Dif Scaur and was now the head of Intelligence, responsible for analysing and evaluating any and all threats to the Alliance. And two unmarked ISDs attacking one of their member worlds is certainly a threat.

"We've tried everything we can think of, and they definitely aren't on any of our databases. Have you had any luck Madam Director?" Limpan asked, and Kalenda shook her head, her eyes closed as she did so.

"None. We've analysed the data you sent us, and we have to agree with you. The ships appear to be brand new."

"But as they're older than we are, how the devil can they be?" Releqy demanded, slamming her fist on her desk.

"My point exactly. Not wanting to sound alarmist, but could it not be a sign of oncoming Imperial aggression?" Limpan asked worriedly, and Kalenda neither nodded nor shook her head.

"Possibly. But why use such old ships, why not use new ones, if it is the Empire?" she asked, and Niathal smiled grimly.

"Simple. Using new ships would betray them. Old ones could virtually be anyone, and I believe we're jumping to conclusions by even contemplating this." She said, and Kalenda nodded respectfully to her military counterpart.

Releqy got up, clasped her hands behind her back and gazed out of the wide window, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Perhaps. And while I am inclined to agree with Admiral Niathal, there is the point that Admiral Pellaeon is having trouble controlling the Moffs. They are getting restless, their ambition is running unchecked. They sense he is getting on in years, as such the throne of the Empire will soon be up for grabs. For any Moff, it is still a tempting prize, and if they through whatever means manage to expand the holdings of the Empire, they will be set up for the big job when Pellaeon retires for good."

"They wish to expand the Empire?" Limpan asked, and Releqy nodded slightly.

"Yes. And Moff Lecersen is making a nuisance of himself, he wants Bilbringi back for the Empire. And unfortunately, I am having trouble finding a way to keep it from the overambitious murglak." She said tartly, and they all exchanged dire looks.

An Empire under Pellaeon they could trust and get on with. If Lecersen got the top job, a Moff who made it clear that he hated all the Alliance stood for, well it could quickly become a serious situation.

"Wonderful." Niathal said grimly.

"I shall ask Pellaeon about these Star Destroyers, see if he can't turn anything up. Anyway Admiral Limpan, what of the Verpine?" Releqy asked, and Limpan frowned.

"Well they are a strange bunch, but it's clear that they're furious. The attack was unprovoked, they did it to cause trouble. And on top of that, the hive mother is going ballistic. Fett was apparently contacted after the first salvo, and his envoy came into the system and turned around again, didn't even offer to help, they just scarpered."

Kalenda groaned. While it did make sense for the Mandos to have fled, perhaps fearing Alliance interference, it would only serve to upset the delicate treaty Fett had negotiated with the Verpine, which could cause a whole heap of problems on its own.

"Great. Doesn't that thug possess any political acumen?" she sneered, and Limpan shrugged.

"You can hardly blame them. Besides, they only sent one of those assault things they made, they couldn't do much anyway. However, there still begs the question, what do we do about the Vong and the pirates?"

Releqy turned to Niathal, her eyes cold, and Niathal could feel a royal chewing out coming her way very soon. Best dismiss Limpan quickly before that happened then.

"Keep monitoring them. If the fleet encounters any more of either group, alert me immediately. You will have Director Kalenda's help in this." She said, to an affirming nod from Kalenda.

"Very well. May the Force be with us." Limpan said, saluting before her holo flickered out.

Niathal and Kalenda exchanged a look of foreboding, before they turned to Releqy. Being a Caamasi, the vast majority of the galaxy believed her to be a nice, friendly cheerful woman who would do what was right and would never condone a course of action that led to bloodshed. And by and large that was true. However, being the Supreme Commander of the Fleet and having masses of pirates causing havoc up and down the galaxy, Niathal would do anything she could to ensure their culling, and by and large the plan had worked, and while she knew of it, provided it didn't cause too much harm to the innocent, she would by and large let them get on with it. However, when a plan went pear shaped and endangered the people she had sworn an oath to protect as Chief of State, then Releqy would quickly show that she would not be crossed by anyone.

"So." She said coldly.

Niathal and Kalenda winced at each other knowing what was coming.

"Your oh so clever plan seems to have backfired a little bit, don't you think?" she hissed as she sat down at her desk, glowering at them.

"With all due respect Chief Ak'la the intention was to unite the pirates against the Alliance, so that once they had formed a coalition we could crush it and severely impede piracy for decades to come, make it serve as an object lesson." Kalenda explained.

"Which the plan did achieve. The problem is, we just haven't been able to figure out how to stop them causing havoc yet. We need the Wraiths for that." Niathal said winningly, trying to make her friend see the pros rather than the cons.

"Be that as it may Admiral, there is still the fact that the pirates are now emboldened, emboldened enough that they feel cocky enough to launch an attack on one of the flagships of the fleet!" Releqy raged, slamming her first into the table.

"We expected a few teething problems. And while the losses are regrettable Chief, the damage was not so catastrophic that we should abandon the plan." Niathal pointed out, and her opposite glowered.

"Yes but with all due respect the plan was agreed to, underhanded and potentially dangerous as it might be, before the arrival of this Vong threat." She said tiredly, heaved a sigh and leaned back in her chair looking drawn out.

"We will stop the Vong before they get a good hold Chief Ak'la. I already have people working on it." Kalenda soothed, but Releqy still looked worried.

"I don't know. Forgive me for saying so but I have a bad feeling about all this. Right, time to divide and conquer. Cha, see what you can do about the Vong and the pirates, see if you can head them off, knock them on the head, I don't care. Belindi, see what you can get from the intel about Roche, the slavery problem, the Mandalorians treaty with the Verpine, the Vong threat and the two rogue Star Destroyers. Meanwhile, I'll get on the blower to Pellaeon see if he can find out anything of use at his end. And will someone at least find some clue as to what Master Skywalker is up to and what the hell he's doing out in the big wide galaxy?" she asked irritably, and with that the other two considered themselves dismissed.

XX

Wethen looked at the report in surprise. Following the defeat of the _Singularity _at Roche, they had headed straight for Bimmiel, surrounding the inactive ISD with Lumiya's fleet and many of Nazarn's remaining ships. The Royal Guardsmen, most of them given elementary training in the Force by Lumiya, had then entered the ship, on their guard and carrying ysalamiri which Lumiya used to teach them to rely on their other senses. An hour later, they had reported back with some very surprising information.

The first piece was absolutely baffling. Three prisoners had been found within the cells of the Destroyer. While two were fairly on in their years, the other was in their mid twenties. At least their physical body was. The captured Blackhole stormtroopers, stripped of Cronal's mind control, reported to their interrogators that the younger prisoner had been subject to an experiment by Cronal, and it had worked. The man, whose body was beginning to fail him, had been captured by Cronal's agents and taken to a dark lab, and when he next awoke, he was in a new body. And now he was pure unbridled rage and anger, bottled up in human form, a beast of a man waiting to be freed and let loose on his enemies.

However, he was not the only interesting thing on the destroyer.

Cronal himself was impounded in his quarters, kept in place by the Royal Guard and by the ysalamiri. However it appeared that he too was not what he seemed. After all, Cronal should be an aged, withered old man by now. Instead, he was a man in his mid forties, but his body was once more getting ravaged by the power of the dark side.

And there were two other prisoners locked within the vaults of the Destroyer. A relic of the Galactic Civil War, their creation had been ordered by Grand Admiral Thrawn prior to his death. The only two survivors of an entire experiment that had been crushed by one lone Jedi, these clones were heartless, merciless and totally and utterly insane.

XX

In her quarters in the Jedi Temple, Tresina smiled as she saw the news coming from her homeworld of Vinsoth. Madhi Vaandt had once again been first on the scene, and this time the Chevs had been freed from the oppression of the Chevin, which was an unprecedented move indeed.

"...Celebration here on the streets of Vinsoth as the Chevs no longer have to serve the Chevin as retainers and have been given full citizenship rights. Coupled with this news is the intention of the Alliance, the Hapes Consortium and the Imperial Remnant to begin a trade embargo of Hutt space to try and pressure them into at the very least giving their slaves more freedoms and at the most abolishing it all together. And Alliance Intelligence has reported that the Klatoonians are protesting the Hutt damage to the Fountain of the Ancients, with an envoy for the Alliance heading to that sector next week. The anti-slavery movement has even garnered attention in the Senate, with Senator Rockbender of Tatooine endorsing the action and rallying votes to vote for an official end to slavery after a blind eye has been turned for so long. Also endorsing this move is Senator Luew of Sullust, and the news has spread to Queen Mother Tenel Ka and Imperial Moff Sarreti who have spoken in favour of the campaign to free the slaves of the galaxy. Also of note is the group Freedom Flight which has numerous supporters across the galaxy, some of which in the very heart of our government. This is Madhi Vaandt, bringing you joyful news of liberation yet another world!"

Tresina smiled, and turned to look at her holocomm and smiled as the elderly visage of Ackmena appeared before her.

"I thought I would call first and congratulate you. Your world is free." Ackmena smiled, favouring the Jedi with a kindly smile.

"After so long it's incredible... but I owe it to Freedom Flight. Vinsoth wouldn't be free without them." She said with a smile, and Ackmena gave her a swift, calculating look, which made Tresina smile more.

"I did some digging. I was actually trying to find out who your other Jedi member is but the information I came across is much more interesting. Dream Followers was actually a Freedom Flight front, and the port master was an agent of the group." Tresina said and Ackmena hissed in annoyance.

"Show off. How did you find that out? If it got out..."

"Don't worry Ackmena, I found out because I joined little bits of info together, some of it not open to the public. Your secret is safe with me. And by the way, who is the other Jedi member?" Tresina asked curiously, but the old woman smiled.

"Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies my darling." She said mysteriously, and Tresina scowled, with no real force behind it.

"And your government contacts that Madhi just released? Did you approve her doing that?" she asked, and Ackmena nodded.

"Yes, making more and more people think that we're a group to be reckoned with. I'll tell you this much: she mentioned one by name, one in passing and another member is indeed in the very heart. And if it is any help to you, its not one of the big three." Ackmena said and with a dry chuckle she vanished.

Tresina laughed. Ackmena was a fine leader for Freedom Flight. When the group had first been started eight years ago, helped along by the mounting tension with Corellia where it was easy to make a lot of money very quickly, she had never dreamed it would become so large. But now, reporters, two Jedi, Senators, freedom fighters and someone in the heart of the government had all put their weight behind it. It was good to know that no matter how dark the future looked on a whole and during Jedi meditations, it certainly looked good for the slaves.

XX

The Star Destroyer _Right to Rule_ moved slowly through space, headed towards the devastated remnants of what was once a Lucrehulk cruiser. Massive holes had been drilled into it, the large spherical centre looked more like a pockmarked asteroid than a cruiser, and the hyperdrive ring had been chewed up by turbolasers and cannons. And down on the planet, there was a settlement that hadn't fared much better. According to the reports, the weapons of the attackers had created a massive trench around the town, allowing them to land and capture the terrified populace while they burned the village to the ground.

On the bridge of the Star Destroyer, Admiral Natasi Daala narrowed her laser like eyes. This was the third world that had encountered this fate, and it had only started after the Alliance had defended Orvax and blockaded T'Surr. The worlds in the furthest reaches of the Tingel and Divis arms were far too far away from the centre of the galaxy. As such, in conflicts such as the Vong War they were often too insignificant to warrant any action on the part of the main powers. And that was where she had come in.

Following her last confrontation with Garm Bel Iblis and her harrowing escape on the _Scylla_ she had rallied what remained of her loyal supporters and fled to the arms of the galaxy, far away from the New Republic and from what had remained of the Empire that she had served. Once there, she had pledged herself to protecting the small worlds that the galaxy at large didn't seem to care about. Creating a sizeable fleet, she had defended the small worlds against pirates, Hutts and the Vong, and her fleet had grown to a good size over the years. Now however, something was threatening the worlds under her command, pillaging the people she had sworn to protect.

"This attack follows the pattern of the last two. They come out of lightspeed, blowing up whatever is in orbit, bombard the planet, trapping the populace and then they invade, kidnap whoever stands still long enough then high tail it out of here." Her son told her and she sneered.

"So whoever this lot are, they're cowards. How many of our ships have we lost?" Daala asked, her voice constricting in anger.

"Two so far. That Lucrehulk and an Assassin Corvette." He told her and she curled her hand into a fist.

"Send out a call to all our ships within the Tingel Arm. If they encounter the ones doing this, they are to retreat and come and inform me immediately." She said, her voice brittle, and he headed off to carry out her orders.

Daala didn't like this. They were missing something. These raids were dangerous, deadly. And she needed to stop them, and quickly. And preferably before the unseen plan that was going on bit them on the behind.

XX

The sky was dull and cloudy, with a hint of a storm in the air. Tahiri wrinkled her nose as she and Tekli left the temple for some much needed recreational shopping. Ever since the younger Jedi had started going mad, the two of them had been helping Cilghal try and sort them out, to no avail. While the Jedi Master took a break, as along with trying to find out what was wrong with the younger Knights of the Order, she also had her council duties to deal with, which with Master Skywalker still absent were becoming more and more numerous. And frankly, it was a relief to get out of the temple. The strength and speed of the rising dark side in the galaxy had most of the Order rattled, the masters included. Combining that with the rumours of a new Vong threat, a unified pirate threat, escaped slavers, the Chiss and Hutts still being awkward and an Imperial ambush with no explanation behind it, the atmosphere was tense and worried.

"I just don't understand how the dark side is rising so quickly, what the hell is going on out there?" Tekli asked as she sipped a milkshake.

Tahiri shook her head despairingly.

"I don't know, and with Master Skywalker gone the cracks are already showing up in the Council. And with the Battle of Roche, people are jumping at shadows, it's making me edgy." Tahiri cursed, eating her way through a chocolate bar.

"I know, I've never seen Master Cilghal so stressed. What do you think...?" she began, but then stopped, her wide mouse like ears twitching.

"Tekli?" Tahiri asked, swallowing the last of her chocolate.

"All is not well around here." She said worriedly, and Tahiri scanned the crowd.

And of course as always there was the public and their opinions to worry about. Furious at Chief Ak'la tricking her way into the Battle of Orvax, several protests this week had already gotten violent, and what with a new economics bill coming in that was going to hit the wealthiest of society hardest it was only going to get worse.

"Shall we check it out then?" Tahiri asked, nipping into a nearby shop and asking the proprietor to keep an eye on their stuff.

They dashed around to where Tekli was picking up the signals from, and as they ran towards it, Tahiri's own sense of unease was beginning to settle in. When the smell of smoke started wafting their way, her sense of foreboding increased, and her hand fell to her lightsaber. Dashing down the next street, Tahiri blanched.

Fire speeders were high in the air, their water cannons shooting down at the massive columns of flame that were emitting from two towers. And in the courtyard before them, police were valiantly trying to keep hordes of angry people at bay, all of whom were yelling and shouting, smashing bottles and throwing things through the air.

"What the hell?" Tahiri demanded, as a bottle whizzed through the air and smashed on impact with the wall beside them.

"Down with Power-Mad Ak'la!"

"No to women in power!"

"Exterminate the Vong!"

"Stop the piracy!"

"It's our money, not theirs!"

"People for peace!"

"Free the slaves!"

The chants were many and varied, and Tekli scanned the crowd. It seemed as if Unity Plaza had been the site of a series of individual protests, which were now all arming as one. As the noise buffeted her sensitive ears, she looked around to see a policeman running towards them his blaster raised.

"Move along Jedi! Your kind has caused enough damage, so back off!" he snapped, as another fire took hold in another building.

"Our kind?" Tahiri demanded angrily, and in response, he pointed to someone standing on a pile of rubble, wielding a yellow lightsaber.

"Oh shit." Tahiri swore, and Tekli chattered a curse.

Yaqueel Savetu was standing on the rubble, acting like a dirt general for the protestors.

"Let it be known to these false copies that we will not be beaten! We will not be deceived! We will have what is rightfully ours! Onward, and destroy the copies government centre!" she yelled brazenly, and Tahiri looked down at Tekli.

"If they get out of Unity Plaza we've had it. We'll never catch them all." She said grimly, and Tekli nodded.

"Indeed. But the police aren't numerous enough to overcome these protestors, and I'm willing to bet Yaqueel has some Force thing in motion that means they'll be difficult to stop."

"And we can't go straight for her, because we can't get into a duel with all these peoples around, there'll be limbs flying everywhere. Suggestions?"

Tekli looked up at the sergeant, who was beginning to look at them with hope rather than anger.

"We have reinforcements coming, but I'd rather not involve the military. For a start, we'd look brutal, suppressing a protest that way, secondly they take all the credit and truth be told, I'd rather not embarrass your Order. I take it she's gone loopy?" he asked, pointing with his gun at the yelling Bothan.

"I assume so. Hmm, let's think..."

"Why don't we use the fire fighter speeders? Spray them with water, knock them down, we can go and get Yaqueel and sort this." Tahiri suggested, and the sergeant gave a grim sigh.

"I reckon it'll bite us in the ass, but we can try. Alright, let me call them."

However, before he had reached for his comm., the Bothan Jedi turned, and Tekli squeaked.

"Servants of the copies! Take them!" she yelled, and rather than go against the police, they all turned and charged towards the two Jedi.

"Sithspit!" Tahiri cursed, lighting her blue lightsaber, and looking to make sure Tekli was doing the same.

However, her diminutive companion was already on the move, leaping on the heads of the protestors, her viridian lightsaber in hand. The sergeant finished his call, and then drew his blaster as the fire speeders turned to face the large wall of protestors that was moving towards Tahiri. Meanwhile, the police barricade had galvanised themselves, rushing towards the protestors, crossing the debris littered ground.

Tekli landed and leapt at Yaqueel, her saber singing as she sliced upwards. Yaqueel gave a snarl, her yellow saber blocking the attack.

"You see copy, I'm turning your own soldiers against you! You won't take me, they won't let you! I'm onto you!" she declared, and Tekli gave a grumpy sigh and flipped into the air.

Yaqueel span, her saber cutting up to meet Tekli, but the Chadra-Fan was already on the move, dropping to the floor and rolling away from the attack. Leaping up, her blade nicked Yaqueel's shoulder, and she gave a high screech, swinging her lightsaber wildly. Tekli easily ducked away from the wild swing and sliced upwards, nicking her stomach. Yaqueel kicked out, and then turned and ran, making for the edge of the plaza.

"No, you will not take me copy! I'd rather die!" she screamed, and Tekli blanched in fright, blasting the Bothan Jedi with a Force push.

She gave a throaty yell and slammed into a statue, going limp as she did so. These insane Jedi were getting worse. Yaqueel had been willing to kill herself, and she had also nearly taken a bunch of innocent bystanders with her. Alarmed, Tekli turned to see Tahiri waving her saber to ward off the protestors, and the police were closing in on them. But so were the speeders, and it was clear that most of the protestors were coming back to their senses.

"Oh no, stop, don't...!"

She was too late. The fire speeders water cannons opened fire, knocking police, protestors and Jedi alike off of their feet, soaking them through. As people screamed in fright and anger, Tekli frowned, watching as the news cams quickly scurried back towards their masters, the dazed protestors glaring accusingly at the police and the Jedi.

XX

The entire Council was there, aside from the two Masters Skywalker. Tahiri and Tekli stood in the centre of the circle, facing slightly to the left than they usually did, as usually Kyle was closest to the door, with Kam to his left, and then Luke and then Mara to the left of that. However, with Luke and Mara gone, the Council was concentrated beside the large viewing windows.

Tahiri studied the faces around the room. The news of using water cannons on the protestors had spread like wildfire, with the Remnant even actively denouncing it. It had further made matters worse for the Jedi, as Senator Treen was demanding that they be contained to the temple, their privileges removed and their order disbanded. Senator Charr from Corellia had joined the call, claiming that the Jedi were working with Ak'la in order to turn the Alliance into a new Empire, which had received more applause than it ought to have done.

"We had no choice masters. It was either we take action or Yaqueel could have caused a lot of damage." Tekli explained, looking to the holographic form of Chief Ak'la herself.

"Be that as it may Jedi Tekli, all you have done is make our situations worse. Why did you not pursue another course of action?" Kenth demanded, and Kyp rolled his eyes.

"Because as they just said Yaqueel was influencing the crowd with her powers. They did what they were trained to do: subdue the threat with minimum casualties. No one actually died, the only problem with them is their egos are bruised and their clothes are wet." He snapped.

Kenth was about to respond, when Releqy raised her hand.

"No. They did the right thing. If they hadn't, things would be even worse. I can deal with the protestors later. Master Cilghal, have you had any luck figuring out whats wrong with them all?" she asked, and the tired looking Mon Cal shook her head mournfully.

"I'm sorry Chief Ak'la, but no, I haven't. I'm studying them night and day and I'm still no closer to fixing them." Cilghal said, and Ak'la frowned.

"How many have gone mad so far?" she asked wearily, kneading her eyes with her fingers.

"Five so far." Corran said grimly, and Releqy sighed.

"Very well. If you can make no headway in this Master Cilghal, and if anymore Jedi go insane, I want you to ground any potential insane Jedi, its simply too big of a risk for us to keep taking." She said, and the Council all looked at each other in shock.

"With respect Chief, it is not your place to tell us how to run the Order." Kenth said boldly.

Although Releqy was only present via hologram, the room's temperature noticeably dropped with the look that she gave him.

"Master Hamner, I have the greatest personal respect for the Order. I get on well with many of you, and count some Jedi as my friends. I am however the leader of the dominant galactic government. Insane Jedi threatens the people entrusted to my care. And the Jedi Order may be a separate entity, but it is also a part of the government, which means I do reserve the right to intercede in your affairs. These Jedi are a threat that could be very dangerous. Which means, you will listen to me when I tell you that if anymore go insane, they must be locked up for their own safety and the safety of others. Am I perfectly clear?" she snarled angrily, and Kenth looked taken aback at the iciness of the usually very amiable Caamasi's tone.

"We will of course agree Chief Ak'la," Tionne said, "but it will present a problem. If we have to pull Jedi off the duty roster, it could affect our efforts considerably."

She nodded grimly.

"I'm aware of the problems Master Solusar. But if any more Jedi go insane and hurt someone, then we will truly be in the bantha poop. We must act to prevent that. In the mean time, I must insist on the possibility of locking down all those who may be affected." Releqy said, and Kam nodded.

"Agreed Chief." He said with a tired smile.

"Thank you." She said with relief, stifling a yawn.

"Chief Ak'la I must protest this decision. It is not up to the Chief of State to tell the Council how to run the Order." Kenth grumbled, and Releqy once more fixed him with a steely gaze.

"Master Hamner. Let me make some things quite plain. I am more than content to leave the Jedi to their own devices, it suits you and it suits me. We have a very good, open working relationship and I have no wish to change that. However, I am the Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance, which means the vast majority of the missions Jedi undertake are to do with people who voted for me, which means it is my job to protect them. Your young Jedi going insane, tragic though it is, endangers those people, and I am entitled to take whatever steps I need to in order to protect them. You might also note that you are both separate and a part of the Alliance, and as such that means that if I ask you for something, I expect it to be done, else your privileged position within the Alliance could be under threat, which I do not wish to do. And if you think the Alliance shouldn't interfere in Jedi matters, may I remind you of the Swarm War? The lot of you spent so long arguing about what to do, the war was virtually halfway done by the time you agreed on a single course of action." She said coldly, and the entire Council looked down in shame, though Tahiri had to hide a look of glee. After all, despite the Vongforming, she was still mostly only human.

"And if you could try and find out where Master Skywalker is, I would be very appreciative." She added in a kinder voice to the rest of the room, before her holo flickered out.

"You may go." Kyle said to the two young Jedi, who bowed and left, smirking to each other at the subdued expression on Kenth's face.

"The protests are getting worse. The entire government could become destabilised if this goes on much longer." Octa said grimly.

"There are also criticisms that the Alliance is becoming more like the Empire used to be. The Corellian Insurrection, despite turning out in our favour, is used by many as an example of the Alliance being determined to crush any opposition before it materialises. Orvax just further cemented those beliefs." Corran said grimly.

Tresina shook her head.

"The Alliance can't win. The only problem people have is the fact that the Battle of Orvax was done illegally, despite the fact that it helped bring an end to slavery." She said irritably.

"Yes Tresina, but it has caused more problems, not the least of which is setting Nazarn loose on the galaxy at large. Slavers know slavery is going out of existence, and will do whatever it takes in order to maximise their profits before its end, either that or work to ensure that it doesn't end." Tionne lamented.

"The slavery question is part of a larger problem. Our own influence is being undermined due to the insanity of the younger members of the Order. The Battle of Roche is stirring up a hornet's nest in the Mandalorian sector. The Senate is becoming more and more hostile to Chief Ak'la, the Alliance is spread too thin and is facing too many threats, and the fear of the Vong returning is further chipping away at the Alliance's integrity." Cilghal summarised.

Kam sighed and then met the gaze of each member of the Council present.

"I think it is time we tell Chief Ak'la that the dark side is on the ascendency in the galaxy." He said, and was met with mixed reactions.

"Master Skywalker forbade us from telling her." Kenth pointed out, but Saba shook her head.

"That may be, but this one agreez with Master Solusar. We have a good relationship with her, we ought to tell her. And it may help uz get her on her guard if the dark side truly is rising." The scaly Barabel said.

"Saba has a point. I know Luke didn't want us to tell her, but he's been gone for weeks, and is answering very few calls, and Force knows what he and Mara are doing. We're the ones on the ground having to run the show. I say we tell her." Kyp said.

Tionne frowned.

"Whatever action we take, the fact remains: our ability to use the Force is diminishing by the day." She said sadly.

"But how though? A couple of years ago it got a little dark before Corellia, but since then its been relatively normal. Is it really just in the last few months that its gotten as dark as it has?" Octa asked, and Kyle nodded his head.

"Yes. That was the problem. It was quick but it was subtle, we didn't understand what was truly happening until the Force had already gotten considerably darker, turning away from the light."

"The Force will right itself." Kenth said certainly.

"Yez, this one supposez it will. But will it do it before we have a repeat of the last time the Force felt like this?" Saba asked darkly, and no one answered.

XX

The swampy planet of Nal Hutta was the centrepiece of the Hutt powerbase. Since the Vong War, the Hutts had been slowly rebuilding their infrastructure, trying to recover from the brutal damage the Vong had done to their influence. It was a slow process, but Nar Shaddaa was thriving again and they were slowly starting to recover their former strength and prestige.

However, there entire culture could be threatened because of the actions of Freedom Flight, which had started cries for slavery to end throughout the galaxy.

With the various species bound to them under the Treaty of Vontor demanding that they be liberated from their Hutt masters, the power and prestige the Hutts had worked so hard to recover could very well be lost. It would be incredibly difficult to build up an empire again if they didn't have any slaves. And what was more, the Alliance, Empire and Hapans, the three most major powers in the galaxy that interacted with the rest, were blockading them politically and economically in order to try and force the Hutts to free their slaves. And it was beginning to have an effect, much to the Hutts dismay. And the frequent entreaties by Releqy Ak'la over the holo were getting very tiring too. She was subtly applying more and more pressure, and with Qaras now being the sight of yet another suppressed species rebellion, with the Jessar now being free from the Minyavish, they would be getting even more such calls, and if they still didn't free the slaves, there was a chance the Alliance and its allies could impose even more sanctions and further delay their return to prominence.

The Hutt Grand Council were the Hutts responsible for rebuilding Hutt society since the Vong War. After so many losses in the conflict, there were now only four members of the Council.

Borga Besadii Diori had been the ruler of the Hutt clans during the Vong War. She had led the defence of Nal Hutta when the planet had been attacked, but had remained a prisoner during the war. Since then she had once more established herself as the ruler of the Hutts, and had also advocated the building of a strong military so that the Hutts could defend themselves should anyone else attack them. She, like the vast majority of the Hutts, was incensed that the Alliance was trying to pressure them into freeing their slaves, and she was refusing point blank to even consider a repeal of the Treaty of Vontor. The Hutts had had slaves since before the Republic had been born, and they weren't about to stop no matter who was on the throne on Coruscant.

Gorga Desilijic Aarrpo was the nephew of Jabba the Hutt. He had taken over Jabba's criminal empire after the disappearance of Zorba the Hutt, and since then had become the ruler of the Tatooine Hutts. Unlike his uncle, he was a lot less cruel and a lot more pragmatic, and was quietly trying to make the rest of the Council see the sense in freeing the slaves under their control, fearing that if it came down to it, the Alliance could launch an intervention mission and free them by force, and if it came to that, the Hutts would never again recover from the effects of the Vong War.

Zonnos Anjiliac Priare was one of the most successful businessmen of the Hutt Sector, and had financed a lot of the reconstruction efforts since the end of the war, and had been invited by Borga to join the ruling council following the liberation. A cruel master to the slaves, he was also firmly against them so much as looking up at their masters, preferring them downtrodden.

Tooga Jalliissi Gral was the final member, another new addition to the council. Being the one responsible for maintaining the slaves and the relations with the Vontor species, he was even more against liberation than the rest of them.

They watched in distaste as Madhi Vaandt once more reported the fall of yet another oppressive system.

"You realise it will give that meddling Caamasi even more ammunition against us?" Zonnos demanded, a huge, dark skinned Hutt.

"What can she do?" Tooga, a slimmer, light brown Hutt scoffed.

"Simple. If we refuse to free the slaves, she and her allies keep applying pressure to us and cripple our economy, our rebuilding efforts and our business. And if they think that won't work, then they trump up charges of oppression and send people in, whether it be Jedi or an invasion." Gorga scowled darkly.

"The Alliance will not dictate to us, they need us." Borga snarled, though the thought of Hutt Space coming under attack again did worry her.

"Not as much as they used to. And with all this kicking off, and with Pellaeon and Tenel Ka both pro-Alliance we will find it hard to stand against even economic and trade sanctions." Tooga grumbled.

"We need a way to get the Alliance off our back, or at least ensure that they don't force us to comply with this ridiculous liberation campaign. Fortunately, someone arrived this morning claiming to have very important information for us." Borga said with fiendish delight.

"How do we know he isn't a time waster?" Zonnos asked sceptically.

"He's one of our best agents, and his information has always been reliable. Besides, if he is a time waster, my pet acklay is always hungry." Borga said maliciously, and sent for the agent.

He was an Elom, and Gorga recognised him as one of their agents who kept an eye on the far side of the galaxy, in the area around the former Empire of the Hand, the Empire itself and the Ascendancy. He was indeed one of their best agents, and had smuggled goods to the resistance during the Vong War as well. As such, he knew not to waste time, and his information could be trusted.

"You have information for us?" Tooga asked.

"Yes majestic ones. On my last trip to the Ascendancy, I discovered something that the Alliance doesn't know, or probably even suspect. Due to the Ascendancy ignoring them and the Empire for months on end, they have no clue what has befallen the Chiss. They have been destroyed." He said, and looked at the shocked reactions of the entire council.

"The entire government?" Borga demanded in shocked awe.

"Yes wondrous one. Csilla has been completely melted off the face of the galaxy, their ships set aflame. The Ascendancy is gone." The Elom said proudly, happy that he had managed to bring them such information.

"Gone?" Tooga asked in shock.

This news was indeed a game changer. And they had to be the only ones who knew it...aside from the Chiss if any remained, and whoever had attacked them.

"All of them. So far as I know, no one survived."

"Do you know who did it?" Gorga asked, and the Elom turned to face him.

"There were Vaagari ships in orbit, but judging by what happened to Csilla, they don't have that much power of technology. The only ones who could have done that to the planet are the Vong." He said significantly.

The entire Council exchanged dark, foreboding looks. But, despite their fear of the Vong, if the aliens were in the Ascendancy that was on the other side of the galaxy, which meant that there was an opportunity to be made. They exchanged nods, and turned back to the Elom.

"You have data?" Borga asked, and the Elom bowed.

"Yes my lady, I have it all on this datacube." He said, handing it to Tooga.

"There are no other records?" Gorga asked.

"None my lord."

"And you have told no one else?" Zonnos asked, his hand hovering over the button that would send him plummeting to the acklay den.

"No, I came straight to you." He said stoutly.

"You have served us well, we thank you for your efforts." Borga said kindly.

"Sadly though, we must remain the only ones in possession of this knowledge." Tooga said grimly.

"So sad." Gorga simpered.

"Farwell." Zonnos said, and the Elom gave them all a frightened look, before Zonnos hit the switch. The floor dropped out from under him, and with a scream he plummeted into the pen beneath the room, the acklays growls reaching their ears.

The Chiss were gone. Opportunities were to be made. And information could be sold...to the highest bidder.

"Next time Ak'la contacts us, we will tell her we have information she should have. We will get her to back off on the slavery front in exchange for it." Borga said.

"Indeed. She will rue the day she decided to dictate to us." Gorga snarled.

"Won't they be furious if they find out we knew and didn't help? There's billions of innocent people in the Ascendancy, we could help them somehow." Zonnos said, ill at ease with the decision.

"It is of no concern to us what happens in the Ascendancy. Our interest is rebuilding our realm, and making sure the Alliance does not order us around like some spineless vassal. And besides, this is an opportunity. We begin stirring the pot, make people think the Vong are about to launch an assault on the galaxy again, and place ourselves in the best position to benefit. We can then sit back and watch as the Empire, Alliance and Hapans shake themselves to pieces." Borga said with smug satisfaction.

"But to keep information like this simply to get our way with the slaves..." Gorga began, but was cut off by Zonnos.

"It doesn't matter. This is the course we will follow. We will give them the information in exchange for them backing off and minding their own business."

Gorga frowned, but kept his peace. This was a bad idea. They may not be part of the Alliance, but they now had information that an official ally of the Alliance had been attacked and forced to the edge of extinction. Under the terms of the Convention of Civilised Systems, anyone keeping such information secret was basically committing an act of genocide, and if they were part of the government not being told, then treason was also involved. And if Ak'la found out they kept this quiet in order to keep a few slaves, she would be furious. And something made him think that a furious Releqy Ak'la would not be good for anyone.

XX

The planet Qaras was full of cheers as Madhi headed back for the _Shooting Star_. Unlike some of the other planets with oppressive societies, Qaras had been relatively sedate in its revolution, and now a joint power sharing government, such as what Dac had had during the Clone Wars had been set up, led by Jessar Rokari Kem and Minyavish Tiyuu'cha Mahlor. Th revolutions continued to spread across the galaxy, with more and more species demanding equal rights and fair representation. Various planets were rushing to join the Galactic Alliance, and planets such as Orvax and Klatooine where in the process of being admitted to the organisation. All in all, the slave revolt, planned and hoped for for so long, was going their way and turning out quite nicely.

However, three things were letting the revolution down. Firstly, while the Alliance was generally supporting the plight of the slaves and of the oppressed species, due to political difficulties it could not actively support the revolt as much as the members of Freedom Flight wished, and that made protecting the freed slaves a lot more difficult, especially when it took so long for liberated planets to be admitted into the Alliance.

Secondly, rumours were starting to spread that Nazarn, the most feared slaver in the galaxy, was on the prowl, capturing thousands of slaves and selling them in the outer reaches, to warlords, pirates, the Corporate Sector and worse, the Hutts.

The Hutts themselves were the third problem. Due to the long standing Treaty of Vontor, their own desire to rebuild no matter the cost, and the automatic gravitation of some species to the Hutts, it was going to be incredibly difficult to force the Hutts to free the species under their thrall, especially if Borga and the rest of the Council feared it could hinder their rebuilding efforts. While the Klatoonians outside of Hutt Space were now free of slavery, having forced the Hutts from their world, the ones still in Hutt Space were still enslaved, as were the Nikto and the Vodrans who were similarly enslaved, as were their entire species. Others, such as Weequays and Gamorreans were also virtually enslaved to the Hutts, and if they felt that anything threatened their plans to rebuild their infrastructure they would be highly opposed to freeing any slaves.

But, if Ackmena had her way, that was about to change.

"Wait, you want me to what?" Madhi demanded, and the older woman smiled slightly.

"Do an expose on the Hutts and their slaving practices. Show them up in front of the entire galaxy, make them all sit up and take notice. Start applying pressure to the Hutts to try and make them see things our way." She explained, and Madhi snorted.

"Fat chance, there isn't a profit in it. But anyway, why me?" she asked curiously as the others got the ship ready for departure.

"You're one of our best known agents. There's only two others who might be noticed like you, and I'd rather they weren't noticed quite yet. Besides, I have it on very good authority that Chief Ak'la enjoys your shows, that will give us more publicity." Ackmena reasoned, and Madhi smiled.

"Alright, I'll do it. One expose on Hutt slaving practices coming right up. Who are the two agents you don't want to reveal?" Madhi asked in a teasing voice, and the leader of Freedom Flight smiled.

"Never you mind. All will become clear eventually though, I assure you. But be careful about this Madhi. This is dangerous ground you'll be treading. The Hutts are distracted yes, but some of the ones on the council are known for being petty and vindictive. Tread carefully." Ackmena warned, and Madhi nodded grimly.

"Don't worry about me Ackmena, I'll be fine. Won't I?" she asked nervously, and Ackmena nodded.

"You will be child. I know how much of a risk you will be taking in doing this, and I'm eternally grateful. Like I say though, it shouldn't be a problem with the Hutts otherwise occupied. And if not, I can get you the best protection imaginable." She assured her with a final smile before her holo flickered out.

Madhi grinned. An important piece on the slaving practices of the Hutts. Publicly embarrass the Hutts, and make the other governments sit up and take notice of what was going on. And by so doing, help bring slavery to an end all the faster. Yes, that was a very good plan. Eager to get started, she headed for the cockpit, to tell the pilot to set a course for what will be one of the most important bulletins of her life.

XX

Collonzas was a pirate with vision, there was no disputing that. Since he had unified the groups, the raids they had been carrying out had been getting more and more ambitious, hitting bigger and bigger targets as they progressed. While so far they had all been acting as separate pirate groups, of only two or three groups acting in conjunction at any one time, now Collonzas was happy with their performance, he was moving on to bigger and better targets.

Which put the Wraiths in a difficult position.

While they were authorised to use whatever means necessary to keep their cover, now that Collonzas was wanting to move into the big leagues, that meant they would soon be in direct contact with Alliance forces, and to keep their cover as pirates, it would mean having to fight people who were really their comrades.

Needless to say, Director Kalenda wasn't happy with this turn of events either.

Face had called her, and had also called Admiral Niathal, and now the Wraiths were reporting to two thirds of the triumvirate that ruled the galaxy.

"What is the target?" Niathal asked, her large eyes fixed on Face.

"We don't know, he doesn't tell us until we're actually about to jump to lightspeed. And surely we don't want to betray them just yet?" Kell asked, and Kalenda looked at Niathal worriedly.

"What do we do? If we plan to get them all at once, we need to let them keep playing along with it. But how far do we let them go?" Kalenda asked, her face betraying her concern.

Niathan pursed her lips. While it was technically her decision due to it being a military mission, Kalenda also had an input due to them being intelligence operatives.

Niathal looked at Kalenda, and the director of intelligence sighed.

"We need to take a chance. Alright Face. Go along with the attack. Act to keep your cover, but if you encounter Alliance forces, you must try to harm as few as possible. We want Collonzas but not at the expense of sacrificing our own people. And if you go native, I will have to send General Antilles after you, which I'm sure none of us want. I know you won't, but the warnings there. Be careful, don't cause too much damage if you can avoid it, and may the Force be with you." Kalenda said, and the holos shimmered out.

"Whatever way you spin it, it still stinks." Elassar lamented, and Shalla nodded in agreement.

"Well luckily we have a resident Jedi who'll keep us going straight." Kell said fondly, and Tyria smiled at him.

"Alright, we do this fast and clean people. Remember, we're just playing pirate, we're not actually pirates. Let's keep it that way. Piggy, you, Kell, Runt and Bhindi, you take the fighters, General Kargin will be commanding from the secondary bridge, while Atril commands up here. Good luck people." Face said, and they all headed off to get ready for their mission.

XX

It was a small task force, but Atril had to admit, it could be quite deadly for anyone on the receiving end. Collonzas himself was leading the attack from the _Governor_, his Saboath Destroyer. There were two old fashioned Trade Federation Missile Frigates, an Assault Transport, an escort carrier, a Corona frigate, a Nebulon, the _Night Caller_ and a Xixytar transport. A small but powerful force, and now they knew the target.

Vena was a rich and powerful world neat the edge of Hapan space. And currently, there was a convoy of Alliance supplies going through the system, which is what Collonzas planned to hit.

"Everyone, you know your targets. Leave the defences to me, you lot disable the ships and bust them open." Collonzas ordered before the final jump.

"Alright people, you know the drill. Casualties to a minimum, anyone asks, we're just being surgical." Face in his disguise said.

The raiding group jumped into the outskirts of the Vena system, just as the convoy, protected only by a bulk cruiser and a squadron of E-Wings, was about to leave. And as the pirates had come right out of lightspeed in their path, they had no way of avoiding what was about to happen.

The _Governor _was merciless, its heavy cannons lancing out and smashing right through the cruiser's bridge. Explosions illuminated the inside of the ship, and as the blackened hulk span slowly out of the way, the rest of the ships rushed into attack formation, disabling weapons and shields while the Assault Transport and the Xixytar closed on the first of the cargo ships.

"Heads up people, Vena has bigger guns than anticipated, and they're on the way! Get what we came for, and then make like a tree and leave!" Collonzas ordered, and Atril frowned at Tyria on the bridge.

"Since when did Vena have a defensive ship?" Tyria asked worriedly.

"Well I haven't heard that it did. Recall the fighters as soon as they're done, I don't want us to tangle with any more Alliance ships than we have to." Atril said, her eyes focused on the burning hulk of the bulk cruiser.

Fortunately, they weren't the only ones that had thought along those lines. The two frigates were already edging back from the convoy, which was in the process of being pillaged. Just as the transports disconnected from their victims, a _Nebula _class Star Destroyer shot into the space in front of them, turbolasers pounding for the attacking ships. The _Governor _immediately turned to meet the new threat, while the pillage loaded ships started to jump away from the lethal Star Destroyer.

"Atril, what the hell is that doing here?" Face asked from the other bridge, and the woman frowned.

"No idea. My suggestion is we leave though before it gets too friendly." She said as a flight of pirate fighters were obliterated by the cannons.

With the others TIEs on board, the corvette leapt away, leaving the Star Destroyer far behind.

XX

A few hours later, Collonzas was studying footage of the battle, as he always did. Everyone had performed admirably, at least until the arrival of the Star Destroyer. The presence of such a powerful ship so far from the areas where it would usually populate was disconcerting. Why was the Star Destroyer at Vena?

Either way, the test had been a success. His forces were attacking across the galaxy, along the Hydian Way and the Corellian Run, and also flirting around the edges of important systems and jumping once they had attracted Alliance attention. And as a result of those actions, Niathal had spread her fleets too thinly. And now was the time to take advantage of the redundancy of the Alliance. Smiling, he sent the signal, announcing the start of operations that would bring about Operation Lusankya.

Smiling tightly, he again looked at the battle holo. Something was niggling at him, it just wasn't right. And he was determined to find out what.

XX

Face was sitting in the mess hall in the middle of the night, contemplating. They had, willingly or not, actively or not, participated in the deaths of the crew of that bulk cruiser and the fighters protecting it. Intelligence was a dirty job at times, he knew that, always had. They'd had to do several unsavoury things over the years, such as when they were forced to work with Warlord Zsinj. But this was different somehow. Collonzas was a deadly, dangerous opponent. He was out for blood, and he had shown in the numerous skirmishes he had made the pirate forces take battle in that he made no bones about blowing up Alliance ships. And now, he kept promising how they would take revenge on the Alliance. Whatever that meant, it couldn't be good.

"Face?" Dia asked gently as she entered the room.

"Yeah?" he asked tiredly, turning to face her.

"It's not our fault remember? We're doing a job." She said soothingly, and he shook his head.

"It's not that simple Dia. Those are our own people we're going to be going up against, especially when Collonzas starts to go on to bigger and better things. It's only going to get worse." He lamented, and she stroked his cheek tenderly.

"It's our job Face. We don't have to like it. And think of it this way. If we get enough to deal with him, then we can save loads of lives." She assured him, and he arched his eyebrow at her.

"Ok, but until then we're going to have to keep shooting at people like us, friends. And how do we know what we're doing will even help?" he asked dispiritedly, and she smiled sadly.

"I think your problems are based around one overriding one: you're getting too old for this sort of thing."

Face looked at her, and then, after thinking about it, nodded.

"I suppose I am. I'm just tired, fed up of everything we have to do, the endless wars in this galaxy. We should just force them all to get along." He growled, and she smiled.

"No arguments here. Come on you grumpy old git, let's get you back to the retirement home." She said kindly, and the two of them left the mess hall hand in hand.

XX

Jabitha looked at Danni questioningly.

"You truly think the remaining Vong are that much of a threat to the galaxy?" she asked carefully, not paying complete attention, tuned as she was to the emotional needs of Zonama Sekot.

"Yes Magister, I do. The Praetorite Vong brought down three planets with only a few spy ships and a world ship. Who knows how much firepower these forces have?" Danni asked, and the Magister nodded.

"Magister, you have allowed my people to live here. But if these Vong are what I think they are, then there will be no way that they will allow Sekot to survive, especially not after what happened at Yuuzhanatar." Nas Choka warned, and Danni looked at the former war master accusingly.

"You said you didn't know who was behind this." She grumbled, and he patted his hand in the air to appease her.

"I don't, I just remember rumours. Before we actually entered this galaxy, rumours persisted that the Supreme Overlord had secretly given someone command of a task force. And a worldship was unaccounted for during the initial stages of the assault. It is my belief that there could in fact be some truth to those rumours, it would explain why they didn't surrender. Knowing what we know now about Onimi, it could very well mean that he was the one behind it, and as such they could only follow the Overlord's commands, hence why they have returned now, they want revenge." He explained, and Jabitha frowned.

"Well, perhaps that may be, but I vowed to take the children of my planet in. I cannot allow you to leave without incurring the wrath of the Alliance." She explained, and Danni sighed.

"I know you want to do the right thing Magister. But, if this Vong threat starts off another war, the Alliance won't be cowed by the Jedi this time. They will exterminate the Vong, and destroy Sekot. I know we cannot do much, but at least help us do something." She pleaded.

Jabitha looked out at the green world that had become home to the Yuuzhan Vong and Danni, with her rarely used Force powers, could sense how conflicted she was.

"You're asking me to break the Sekot Accords. An act of war against the Alliance. Which could endanger Sekot." She lamented.

Nas Choka growled in frustration.

"And if we do not try to stop this fleet, it will mean the end of us all anyway. The galaxy wanted us wiped out. Give them an opportunity and they will take it. We must act!"

Jabitha wrung her hands, but Danni could sense her resignation. The Magister didn't want the Vong dead either.

"Very well. You may build a warship, I will distract the scientists. But I must insist it be a corvette class, nothing more. Danni will go with you. And also, Captain Yage will join you." She said, and the two looked at each other.

A corvette wouldn't give them much power, but realistically they couldn't build anything else without alerting the Alliance. And as to Captain Yage joining them, that was alright. Lent by Admiral Pellaeon to help the Jedi find Zonama Sekot during the war, it had been left behind during an ambush by the Vong and stranded in the Unknown Regions. After Coruscant was liberated, Sekot had returned to pick up the ship, helping with its repairs, and due to them being too far away and not having enough of a crew due to the damage they had taken in the journey, they had volunteered to stay behind to guard Sekot, and after it was approved by Pellaeon in secret, the deal had been agreed and the Imperial II frigate had remained in orbit ever since.

"Very well." Nas Choka agreed, bowing his head.

"But you shall not use coralskippers. I will create Sekotan fighters for you to use instead. Is that agreeable?" Jabitha asked, and they both nodded.

"Very well. Go, begin. And lord do I hope you know what you're doing." She said worriedly, as the two left her mansion.

XX

The ship was quiet as it headed to Kesh. In the dead of night, with everyone asleep, Lumiya snuck from her room to the communications room, and signalled her Hapan operative. The Force was reacting. She could feel it. Now was the time to strike. Her decades of careful planning would now come to fruition. After the defeat of the Sith and the Empire at Endor, the galaxy had endured much. And now, once again, it was time for the Sith to have their revenge.

The image of Ducha Galney of Hapes shimmered into view, and Lumiya waited as the noblewoman bowed respectfully.

"My lady, it is good as always to hear from you." She said, and Lumiya smiled.

"You are most kind Ducha. And it will be a better call than usual this time round. The time has come. Instigate Operation Raxus." She ordered, and Galney smiled.

"Seriously?" she asked, and Lumiya allowed herself a small smile.

"Sith Lords are not usually known for their sense of humour Ducha. Yes, seriously. The time has come. The Alliance is spread thin, coming apart at the seams, and the Jedi currently lack leadership. The attacks of Collonzas and Nazarn are weakening their hold on the galaxy, making the people look elsewhere for protection and leadership. The slavery revolution is further dismantling the apparatus of state, spreading chaos and anarchy. The Jedi going insane is making the people fearful for what is to come. And due to the Sith's efforts, the Force is getting darker by the day. Things are coming apart for the Alliance, and now we must neutralise the threat of Tenel Ka and her supporters." Lumiya explained.

"Indeed my lady. I was actually going to call you to see if we could move about now anyway." The Ducha said, and Lumiya looked at her curiously.

"How do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard? Collonzas and his pirates raided Vena. An attack so close to Hapes has whipped the nobles into a frenzy, claiming that it is proof that the Alliance cannot protect itself and its allies any longer. Especially when the ship that responded to their attack was far too powerful to be where it was, and with a certain nudge from myself, I have some nobles panicking that it was the harbinger of an invasion before the pirates scuppered it." She said, and Lumiya smiled.

She had chosen well by choosing Galney to be her Hapan operative. The Ducha of Terephon, she was ambitious and resentful, feeling that once Ta'a Chume and Teniel Djo had died, the throne should have passed to another noble, and considering she was one of the richest members of court, she had fully expected it to be her. However, Tenel Ka had claimed the throne and become Queen Mother. Contrary to Galney's wishes, she had become a pro-Alliance and pro-Jedi queen, getting Hapes involved in the Vong War and the Swarm War. Furious at her continual involvement with Alliance affairs, and the heir that she was sure was illegitimate, Galney had begun sounding out support for her own claim to the throne, intending to wrest it from the Jedi queen, make Hapes a secure and closed empire again, and also get rid of any Jedi or Alliance influence.

However, she had had many false starts. The Vong War had killed many of her initial allies during the Liberation of Coruscant, and the Swarm War had further weakened her support, discreet as it was. Forging an alliance with Ducha AlGrey, they intended to make a move on Hapes following the birth of Allana. However, the comatose state of Ta'a Chume, rumoured to be the work of Tenel Ka's Jedi bodyguard, Zekk, had weakened their resolve, and it seemed as if they may never get their hands on the throne.

At least until Lumiya started to help them. She had set them up with other nobles, channelling them funds, weapons and supplies, all very discreetly so as to avoid the eyes of the Zel twins. With that, the Heritage Council had been formed, and now they had the means to ensure more people came over to their side as well. Their time had finally come.

"I shall set about my business immediately mistress." Galney said, bowing once more.

"Serve me well Galney, and you shall no longer merely covet the throne." Lumiya assured her, and then signed off.

Lumiya smiled. At long last, the plan was afoot. Soon, nothing would stop the Sith from once more ruling the galaxy. Now, she had two more calls to make before she did anything else, and then she could worry about dealing with Vol, Krayt and Vongerella and their own individual ambitions, and her own role in the scheme.

The next connection took a while to establish, and she was getting impatient. The group were on her back enough as it was, she didn't need them finding out she had contacts in Hapes or the Empire, that would only cause them to get in the way. The connection was eventually made, and she was not in the best of humours when it was done.

"Moff Lecersen, I do not appreciate being kept waiting." She growled, watching as he and Quille looked at each other worriedly.

"Apologies my lady, I have a new aide, and I was in another call, he did not know that you require immediate attention no matter what." Lecersen said, trying to smooth things over but she wasn't impressed.

"Indeed. Begin Project Vitiate." She ordered and both Moffs looked at her with ecstatic glee.

"We shall begin at once my lady." They assured her, and flickered out.

That was the Empire dealt with. Now, Lecersen and Quille would begin their plans to expand the Empire, and thanks to her efforts several worlds close to their border would soon join them. That would further weaken the Alliance and their hold on power, which suited her aims.

One last call to make, no matter how much she might not want to.

She pulled the villip from beneath her robe, and the face of Vongerella came into view.

"Master." She managed, not quite scathingly.

"Vongerella. I have a job for you." She said, and the Vong woman's false eye narrowed dangerously.

"You seem to forget _master _that you cast me out." She sneered, and Lumiya narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"I did, as you were to focused on the plight of your species to become a true Sith Lord. However, at the Home, you agreed to work with me, or are you reneging on the deal?" her tone implying exactly what would happen if she were.

Vongerella bared her teeth.

"Yes. With, not for." She corrected and Lumiya rolled her eyes.

"Don't be difficult Vongerella. What I want you to do will undoubtedly suit your own aims too, whatever it is you're up to." She said irritably.

And the knowledge of what Vongerella was up to still eluded her, it was driving her mad. Since the meeting on the Home she had largely disappeared, and had been absent for a long period before that, and she was still none the wiser as to what her former apprentice was up to.

"What is it?" the Vong asked, relenting.

"I want you to begin attack Alliance forces, raid their worlds, attack their convoys, ambush fleets, that sort of thing."

"To what end?" Vongerella asked, though it was clear from the predatory expression on her face that she was going to do it anyway.

"What other end matters my dear, but theirs?"

"Very well master, I shall do as you ask. I was about to start doing that anyway." She said, and the villip closed.

Lumiya smiled, and then it turned to a frown. What was Vongerella up to if she was about to start attacking Alliance targets anyway? Grumbling at the lack of information on her former apprentices activities, she sent a message to Wethen to ask him to investigate. With that, her work done for the night, she slipped back to bed, she needed to be well rested if she was to meet the Sith in the morning.

XX

"The attack on Vena and on Roche clearly shows that the Alliance is no longer capable of defending its territory!" one noble shouted.

Tenel Ka had to resist the impulse to hold her head in her hands. She was sat on her throne, with Allana sitting beside her, fidgeting due to boredom, and her father in his chair slightly behind her own to act as her advisor. Behind him stood her two cousins, Trista and Taryn Zel, and along with that was Taryn's fiancé, her old Jedi companion Zekk, who had moved to Hapes following a mission to investigate the Lorell Raiders who had made a comeback.

"And I say again that they were isolated incidents. The Alliance couldn't anticipate a surprise attack, and that's exactly what those two strikes were." A noble on her side argued.

Ducha AlGrey, the ringleader of the dissenting nobles, got to her feet, smiling smugly.

"The Queen Mother continues to act as she has always done: like her weak, savage mother. She was in favour of close ties with the New Republic, and look where it got her. Under our Queen Mother, thousands of Hapan lives have been lost fighting Alliance wars. We had no business in the Swarm War, yet because of her ties to the Alliance, and in particular to the Jedi Jacen Solo, she roped our government into yet more hostilities simply because the Alliance couldn't decide what to do about the Killiks. How much longer will you make us an Alliance puppet government your majesty?" she asked, grinning widely.

"You go too far AlGrey." Isolder growled from behind Tenel Ka.

"Do I? Under your poor mother," and Tenel Ka had to suppress a snigger, thinking that no one in their right mind would describe Ta'a Chume as 'poor', "we weathered Clone Wars, the fall of the Republic, the rise of the Empire and to a large extent the Galactic Civil War as well. It was only when Princess Leia, who just happens to be the mother of a Jedi the queen is incredibly close to, chose to court you my prince that we got involved in their problems, and even then your royal mother still kept us largely out of their business. Which was all very well, until your wife took the throne and made us a rentable military for the New Republic simply because they couldn't decide whether to fight or flee the Vong." She said eloquently.

"May I remind the esteemed Ducha that the Vong attacked Hapes without provocation during the war?" Tenel Ka ground out, but the delighted smile on AlGrey's face told her she had made a mistake.

"And why did the Vong come here? Because a Jedi mission went wrong, and you my queen decided to invite spoon benders and mystics into our home that had been mercifully free of them for centuries!"

AlGrey was scoring far too many points, and it was clear that she was building up steam.

"What exactly are you implying Ducha?" Tenel Ka hissed, trying to calm her anger. After all, Allana was present, and she might tell her father if she ripped a woman's head off with the Force, and then she would never hear the end of it.

"That your pro-Alliance leanings will be the destruction of Hapes! You continue to involve us in their problems, their wars, and all it does it get our people killed! If the Alliance isn't strong enough to defend itself, then we ought to let it die! Hapes will emerge that much stronger as a result. We don't need other governments, we never did, we could fend for ourselves. But you continue to lead us to ruin!" she yelled, and to Tenel Ka's dismay, applause broke out all around the grand hall.

"Enough!" Isolder shouted, yelling for order, while Tenel Ka got to her feet.

"Ducha AlGrey. I may be pro-Alliance, yes. But that is hardly a failing. Being an ally of the Alliance means that if we are attacked, they will come to our aid, they are a major trading partner and we can call upon the Jedi Order as and when we need it. Zekk here is living proof of how useful they are."

"If I may point out majesty, he didn't actually find out who was behind the resurgence of the Lorell Raiders." Galney, one of her loyal nobles, whispered in her ear. The Ducha knew full well who was behind the Raiders. Lumiya and she had resurrected them to distract Tenel Ka, and now Collonzas had helpfully taken them off their hands.

"Hush. AlGrey, you may want Hapes to be an isolationist power once more. However, the time for that thinking has long gone. We are part of the wider galaxy now, and we will remain that way." Tenel Ka said dangerously, her single arm flexing in anger.

"Why be isolationist? The Alliance may outnumber us, but we outwit them. People wish to join us, Vena has already expressed a wish for Hapan protection rather than that of the Alliance! Why don't we give it to them, make Hapes the powerful body it ought to be?" she demanded.

Tenel Ka was slightly taken aback. The most extreme philosophy she had ever heard from the nobles was isolation. Expansion was an entirely different affair.

"Expansion?" she breathed weakly.

"We could take what should belong to us. We are a powerful people, but you are too close to the Alliance, you are holding us back!" she roared and more cheers followed that particular speech.

"AlGrey, contain yourself!" Isolder yelled, but it was too late, the damage had been done.

"We will no longer be slaves to the Alliance, and we will not support a Jedi queen who has done nothing but lead us to ruin! As of now, I declare myself free from her service, and intend to save Hapes, who is with me?" AlGrey yelled, and to Tenel Ka's horror, applause broke out. She exchanged a frantic look with her father, and with that AlGrey along with about ten other nobles turned and left the hall, following their new leader.

Tenel Ka turned to her father in shock.

"Did she just declare a separatist movement?" she demanded, and Galney nodded.

"I believe so my queen."

"We should arrest them, now." Trista warned, and Taryn nodded in agreement.

"I know you don't like the thought of that Tenel Ka, but if we don't, this could easily escalate." Zekk warned.

"But then that will further divide the Consortium. We must think about this, we cant jut rush in to an answer. AlGrey has got to have been planning this for months. I wouldn't be surprised if she was behind the Raiders either. She must have been building support, and the problems at Vena and Roche gave her the boost in the argument that she needed." Isolder said darkly.

"How many walked out?" Zekk asked in concern, and Tenel Ka quickly scanned the remaining nobles, and swore, earning her a shocked look from her daughter.

"Mother, what's going on?" she asked softly, and Tenel Ka frowned.

"Nothing you need to worry about yet sweetie. Trista, can you take her to her room? I'll be along later honey." She said distractedly, and as her daughter was resentfully led off, she turned to Isolder, Zekk and Taryn.

"This is far too coincidental. If they do break away, they'll control the entire Lorelli Reach and the Gateworlds, which isolates us from several military bases. Do you think they intend to make a war out of this?" she asked in a panic.

Isolder clasped his chin, frowning pensively.

"We can't jump to conclusions child. We must hope for the best. Perhaps this is just a fit of pique, and after they simmer down, they will simmer out, step down and come back no harm done. But, I think we would be foolish to assume that they will not fight. Between the lot of them, they will control a sizeable fleet, and there's no guarantees," he said and lowered his voice, "that the remaining nobles in the room will actually support you. Many of them may very well just be on the fence. I think it would be adviseable to prepare for the worst." Isolder said grimly.

Tenel Ka looked at the door to the chamber where so many of her nobles had disappeared through. They had split the sector. They wanted freedom from the Alliance, and were willing to fight over it, and had declared themselves separate from her rule. This had all the makings of a civil war. And it was her leadership that had brought them to it.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Behind her, unseen by Tenel Ka's closest supporters, Galney smiled. Everything was going as planned.

XX

As Pellaeon left the briefing room, grumbling to Vitor Reige about his bones creaking, Lecersen nodded to Quille on the other side of the table. As already planned with the other Moffs, they waited until Saretti, Crowal and Rethway left the room before sealing the door and activating the jammer. While this was for the good of the Empire, it could be construed as treason.

And this was dangerous territory. While Saretti, Crowal and Rethway were hardline Pellaeon loyalists, the others were not quite so solid. While they knew Getelles would support them no matter what, Flennic and Freyborn were both two loose ends, and either one of them could easily betray them to Pellaeon, in which case they would be taking a very long walk out of a very short airlock. This was a calculated risk.

"Well Lecersen, what is it you want?" Freyborn demanded, and he smiled.

"Your help and support of course. You see, I have a plan in the works. Surely you must all have seen how the Alliance is struggling. Slave revolts are spreading anarchy. The Senate is acting against the Chief of State. Slavers and pirates are getting bolder, even now attacking within the Core Worlds themselves. The Jedi are going insane, spreading yet more panic through the populace. Rumour has it of trouble in the Mandalorian and Hapan sectors. The Vong are returning for war by the looks of things. They are spread incredibly thinly and can't rely on their established partners, and battles are taking place despite this being proclaimed as a time of peace. We've all seen it before my friends, we saw it with our own Empire after Operation Shadow Hand, we had expanded too far and fast and were suffering the consequences. Our commanders split off, becoming warlords once more and further weakening the Empire and reducing our power. That my friends is what is happening to the Alliance. They are stagnating, and as a result, the time is close for us to significantly improve the Empire's standing." He said mysteriously, and the Moffs looked at each other uncertainly.

"What are you getting at?" Flennic asked suspiciously, and Quille stepped in.

"The members of the Alliance near the border of the Unknown Regions are getting antsy. They fear the Alliance will not protect them as well as they ought to. And that fear has left them ripe for exploitation." He explained.

"What are you getting at Quille?" Getelles asked, always having had very little patience with the man.

"I mean that many planets surrounding our space fear the Alliance's power is waning. As such, they are looking for alternatives. An alternative that we can offer, if all here are willing." He said smugly.

"You plan to expand the Empire?" Flennic asked eagerly, and Lecersen nodded.

"Yes my friend. I've had agents sounding out the governments of the surrounding planets, and many would be interested in a change of government. Mygeeto, Huk, Xexton and other planets are all keen for a change in government. One that with the right support, we can provide." Lecersen elaborated.

"What is it you need from us?" Getelles asked excitedly, and the Moff smiled.

"Your support, and of course your ships."

"Won't the Alliance see any expansion as an act of war?" Freyborn asked sceptically, and Lecersen shook his head.

"No. Firstly, they have too many problems, and secondly, we won't be conquering any of the planets we gain. They will invite us to take them in again."

"How can you be sure?" Freyborn demanded, and Lecersen gave him a tight smile.

"We have our ways, never fear." He replied, knowing full well Lumiya would see to things.

"I'm in." Getelles said, the thought of an expanding Empire pleasing him.

"As am I." Flennic added.

Freyborn looked at them all musingly, then stood.

"You have given us much to think about Moff Lecersen. I shall check on what you have said, see if I can verify it, see if those government really do seek a change, and shall give you my answer in due course." He assured him, shutting his briefcase and sweeping from the room.

Lecersen smiled.

"He'll come around. My agents will see to that. Then, the Empire will stop being a miserable, paltry Alliance backwater and become the Empire we all want it to be once again." He said, and the other Moffs smiled.

"May I ask what your endgame is Lecersen?" Getelles asked, and the ambitious Moff smiled in a predator like fashion.

"A planet that's readmittance to the Empire will totally destroy all respect for Pellaeon's leadership, and also make the Empire a major power once more. The planet Pellaeon lost all those years ago at the site of one of our greatest defeats. Where else, but Bilbringi?"

XX

The meeting with Aristocra Formbi had been mildly bearable. He had praised them for saving him and his escort, and had thanked her for acting as a rally point for the civilians and the remaining military ships that they had found. He had then proceeded to tell Ara'lani that he would be taking over the fleet from then on out.

"Are you insane?" she had asked coldly, and he looked at her in shock.

"You dare speak to a member of the Families like that?" he demanded, and she narrowed her eyes furiously.

"Look around you Aristocra! The Families are gone. The Ascendancy is gone. This fleet is all that if left. We are being hunted by both the Vong and the Vaagari. A civilian will not be able to lead this fleet." She growled.

"Lead this fleet? What is it you intend to do with this usurped command Admiral?" he demanded angrily.

"The decent thing, which also happens to be the sensible thing. We look for other people who have survived the attacks, rally them to us and then make for the Redoubt. There could still be thousands of people out there, and this ship is my responsibility, and as such I have a duty to find them. You may be the last surviving member of the Families, but do you really want people in the Redoubt saying you abandoned them to their own devices to save your own skin?" she demanded angrily, and she fully expected him to argue back.

He just looked at her, and sighed miserably.

"I suppose you're right Admiral. What do you intend to do?" Formbi asked.

"Keep travelling until we can't. I always said we'd only do it for a while. Are you in agreement?" she asked sternly, and eventually he nodded.

And so the duties were split up. While he and Syal looked after the civilian fleet, Ara'lani was in charge of the military aspect, with help from Wreth, Shawnkyr and an advisor from Formbi's ship, which they all knew was a spy. But the power sharing deal worked.

At least it had until now, and its failure now had nothing to do with the personalities involved. It involved a Vong ambush.

The miid ro'ik Vong destroyer had appeared out of nowhere, right on top of the fleet just as they were about to jump to their next location. A blast of plasma had already torn apart one civilian ship, and sent the others into disarray.

"Get those civilian ships behind the defensive line now! Full covering fire! Have the _Olympian _deploy its fighters, send ours out to assist and have the corvettes protect the _Astral Empress_ and the _Chaf Envoy_. Hustle people!" Ar'alani barked.

The two brittle looking corvettes, a spindly ship with four claw like structures protecting the engines behind the humpbacked bridge going into a small tapered point, spun around to protect Formbi and the refinery ship.

Ar'alani cursed as the destroyer, which slightly resembled an MC80 cruiser, pounded fire away at them. While the _Fell Defender _could take it on, it would be hard pressed to protect the civilian ships and fend off the coralskippers at the same time as they fought it. And considering they had already lost around seven hundred people from the fleet, this was not going well.

"Direct all power to frontal shields and weapons, I want that cruiser dead in space! Have the civilians break off from it and calculate another jump to lightspeed." She ordered, wincing as plasma splashed against the shields.

"Admiral, we're reading that the destoryer has thermonukes!" Doshi called and she cursed, watching as her fighters sped in at it, lasers pounding into the coral hull while spiralling away from the attacking skips.

The destroyer was coming straight for them, its plasma weapons pounding against the shields, and she was cautiously keeping an eye on Doshi's readings, they would have to move very fast if they launched a thermonuke, there was no way the _Defender _could stand against those weapons, they had seen them at Csilla.

The other military ships were directing their firepower to the ship, but due to the necessary distance required in order to keep them out of range of the more powerful enemy ship's guns, they were only mildly tickling the dovin basals protecting the ship. Ar'alani frowned. Something wasn't right here. The destroyer had happened upon them by accident, true, but it still should have known that it would only lead to a protracted battle which would weaken it considerably. Unless...

"Admiral, interdictor class analog dropping from lightspeed!" Doshi yelled, and she cursed as the Vong interdictor moved to intercept the civilian ships, which were moving away to make a break for it.

"Have the civilians take evasive action, that ship has to stay relatively still once it starts interdicting, move them out of its field of fire." She commanded, as the destroyer pounded the front of her ship's shields.

This was it. They were doomed, there was no way to escape. Even if she could take down the two enemy ships, their Star Destroyer would be lost in the process, then the enemy could pick the fleet off at leisure. Last stand time then.

"Transfer all power to weapons, hit the destroyer with all the firepower we've got! Have the fighters pound deal with the skips, and set a collision course with the interdictor, we need to get the civilians out of here." She said, and her crew gave her dark, saddened looks, but nodded.

The _Fell Defender _opened fire with everything it had, but the destroyer absorbed most of the attack. The ship started to accelerate towards the interdictor blocking the civilians escape, all the while sending a deadly field of fire back at the other ship. They got closer and closer to the interdictor, and the civilians were primed to jump the second they hit it. Ar'alani took a deep breath as the interdictor heaved into view...

And fire blossomed up its rear. Her eyes were immediately drawn to another Star Destroyer, backed up by three frigates, which had dropped out of hyperspace and were now sending punishing maser fire onto the Vong ship.

"Admiral, it's the _Night Crawler_!" Doshi yelled in excitement.

"Tell Captain Ka'yn that he is a most welcome sight, and have him finish off that interdictor. Have the frigates form up on us, get their fighters to assist ours, while we finish the destroyer!" she said joyfully.

The battle quickly turned in their favour, the interdictor dead in space in moments after the other Star Destroyer pounded it into submission. Under the concentrated fire of their fighters, the skips were soon dealt with, while the _Defender _pummelled the destroyer with help from the corvettes, frigates and carrier, now unafraid since they had backup. Fire blossomed along the enemy destroyer, shooting out of cracks in the rock like hull, while the _Night Crawler_ joined the brawl with the destroyer.

Ten minutes later, it was all over.

XX

"Thank you for the assistance Captain Ka'yn, your arrival was well timed." Formbi said, as they sat in Ar'alani's quarters later on.

"No need to thank me, we've been tracking that interdictor for days, I'm just glad we finally caught it. And its good to know we're not alone out here." He said.

A career officer, Ka'yn had excelled at the academy, and had been given a command at a young age. Now, all these years later he was controlling one of the strongest ships in the fleet. In fact, rumour had it that he might have been on track to take her job, had the entire world not gone straight to hell in a handbasket.

"It's good to see you captain. Have you signalled your civilian ships?" Ar'alani asked as she watched a _Privateer _class patrol frigate, like the one Thrawn had one commanded, move into position beside the _Astral Empress_.

"Yes ma'am, all of them are on the way, all six of them. I thought about continuing to look for enemy ships before we ran into you, but I assume now we're going to the Redoubt?" Ka'yn asked, and Ar'alani looked at Formbi, smiling slightly.

"Well, I wasn't thinking so. There may after all still be other forces out there, civilians lost with no way to the Redoubt. We must help as many as we can. And, we're also close to Copero." She said significantly.

Formbi, Ka'yn, Wreth, Shawnkyr and Fel all looked at each other.

"Surely it was destroyed?" Fel asked, and she shook her head.

"Apparently not. It looks like the Vong only went after our planets. Copero was destroyed, but they left the shipyards intact, must have been to secure the help of the Vaagari, they let them stroll right in there. They rounded up the shipyards workers and have enslaved them, but the ships are still there, as are the people." She explained, and Ka'yn looked at her curiously.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

"One of our bridge officers is a little too keen to please at times, so gives himself helpful jobs to do." Wreth said dryly.

"Well then Admiral, while I can't say I approve of the recklessness of this decision...I also say full steam ahead. What's the plan?" Formbi asked, and she smiled tightly to herself.

"It's time to make the Vong and Vaagari bleed."

XX

Vongerella smiled as she watched the much depleted Alliance taskforce devolve into burning flames. Mygeeto, a frozen world that had once belonged to the Separatists, was screaming bloody murder below them, begging for reinforcements but none were to be had. The corvette and marauder frigate that had been left to guard the planet were smouldering ruins after her attack. At last, her war of revenge against the Alliance had begun.

True it suited Lumiya's aims. True it wasn't that big of a deal, only taking out two ships, which were relatively insignificant anyway. But, it was a start. Now that the first stone had been cast, she could send her fleet up and down the surrounding areas, further weakening the Alliance, destroying their forces through guerrilla tactics and taking it apart piecemeal. And it also helped Lumiya with her plan, which meant she wouldn't bother her much. Which suited her.

"Your orders Domina?" a warrior asked, and she smiled.

"Deploy the fleet along the Hydian Way and the Braxant Run, and send raiders to the Remnant as well. Destroy any Alliance forces they see, but do not assault any planets unless approved by me. The same goes for the Empire. However if they are outgunned they are to retreat, and not give away our location, I don't want them finding the shipwomb or what happened to the Chiss. Understood?" she asked, and the warrior bowed and went about her orders.

With the Chiss gone, and the Empire soon going to be distracted by her own raids, raids by the Vaagari and their own internal problems with the Moffs, the way was clear for her forces to act. After all the years of waiting, of conserving her forces, learning under Lumiya, waiting for the other powers she needed to build up their strength and be ready to suit her plans, soon now the Nagai and Tofs would also join her. With her natural allies arrayed behind her, she would unleash herself once more upon the galaxy, free the defeated warriors of Zonama Sekot, and restore the Vong to what they once were. Their attacks would come from the Unknown Regions, from Bakura, from Endor, and spread, forcing the Alliance into a war on two fronts, and eventually it, the Empire, the Hapans and every other major power would fall. This paltry little galaxy would be conquered, and she would be crowned Empress, not Lumiya, and the Skywalkers and Solos would die painfully for the death of her lover Onimi.

She didn't know what brought it on. Perhaps it was thinking of her oncoming revenge against the Skywalker clan. All she knew was that she was suddenly in the midst of a Force vision.

A misshapen lump of a world with not long to live, a sea of black holes, the Skywalkers and Solos, and a monster, all coalesced into one.

She smiled in a predator like fashion, he plaeryn bol expanding excitedly. She had them, and Lumiya wouldn't be able to stop her. She knew where they were going to be. It was time for a reckoning.

"Alert the fleet that we are leaving them and they are to continue as ordered. If anyone disobeys my orders, I will know and they will spend the rest of their lives on the Embrace of Pain and their torment will be legendary. Keep up the production of the plasma fire, and keep an eye on the Vaagari. And set a course for the Kessel system!" she ordered, and seconds later, the dark side swirling around her, the ship leapt towards her inevitable confrontation with the enemy she had waited so long to kill.

**Here we go again!**

**Here's the latest chapter, and as you can see things are getting worse in the galaxy. The Chiss are still in dire straits, Nazarn is getting stronger, the Alliance is getting weaker, the Empire is getting ambitious and the Hapans are on the edge of civil war. And to top it all off, Vongerella is up to something major.  
**

**What will happen next? Next time we are back with the crew of the _Falcon_ on Kesh, so Sith galore next time!  
**

**Please read and review!  
**


	14. Episode II: Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

Darth Cyclone smiled as the three ISDs that he had assembled departed the massive fleet that was hanging over Korriban, a fleet that had recently been bolstered by the discovery of the Lost Tribe. Combined with their already significantly sized fleet, which was more than capable of engaging any of the Alliance's main battle fleets, the fleet of the One Sith would easily obliterate Lumiya and Vongerella's paltry little squadrons. With the caverns beneath Korriban's surface filled with Spaarti cloning cylinders churning out rank and file troops, all adorned with the tattoos of the Sith, all of whom were capable of manning their ships, Cyclone couldn't wait for the time when they would be unleashed upon the galaxy. And then, he would taste the blood of that false Sith Lumiya.

He smiled grimly to himself. That of course depended on his failure at Kesh, and he had no plans to fail at all.

"Sir, the _Usurper _and the _Dark Union_ are ready to depart." The captain of his own flagship, the _Rising Ashes_, reported.

"Very good captain. Lord Krayt wills us to destroy Kesh, and that is what we shall do. Set a course for the Kesh system." He ordered, and the captain nodded smartly before heading to carry out his orders.

Cyclone smiled as his Star Destroyer prepared for lightspeed. He could ensure the loyalty of the Tribe, bring down that Sith pretender Lumiya and decapitate the Jedi Order all in one swift swoop.

As Lord Krayt commanded.

XX

The _Falcon_ dropped out of hyperspace, to see the glittering blue and white ball that was the planet Kesh. In the cockpit, Luke exchanged a dark look with K'kruhk, feeling the dark side miasma of the planet. It wasn't quite as strong as Korriban, but it was nothing insignificant either. Feeling slightly sick, they looked to Lumiya, who was in the co pilot seat, her face exhilarated.

"Can you feel the power of the dark side?" she asked longingly as they approached the planet.

"Just you keep your dark side to yourself. Will you lot be alright down there? We don't want another Prakith." Han said, heading them for the planet.

Luke nodded.

"Yeah, we should be fine. Prakith was different, they were actively using the dark side against us there. Here it's part of everyday life, nothing creepy about it. I hope." He tailed off uncertainly.

Lumiya nodded.

"They should be fine, provided they stay away from any nexuses of dark side power. We're getting company." She said worriedly, and K'kruhk looked at her curiously.

"I thought you said Krayt had cleaned the system out of anything of interest." He said, and she nodded.

"Anything of interest to him. But as the Tribe will want to protect their homeworld, there's a few ships left. Not that they'll do much if anything bigger than a Nebulon comes calling. A Citadel Cruiser, two _Etti _class transports, two _Dimel_ assault ships and three ChaseMaster frigates won't deter many if they decide to fight. The cruiser is hailing us." She reported, activating the comm.

"This is the _Persecutor_ to unidentified vessel, prepare to be boarded, and your ship taken for the glory of the Lost Tribe." The man on the other end said, and Han rolled his eyes.

"The amount of times we've heard that line." He grumbled, but he was quietened by a look from Lumiya.

"_Persecutor_, this is Lady Lumiya, the Dark Lord of the Sith." She said, anger boiling in her voice.

There was silence on the other end for a few moments, then another, deeper voice came on the line.

"That is impossible my lady," he began, keeping his voice sceptical but polite, "as we have already met the Dark Lord, and his name is Darth Krayt."

Lumiya's eyes flashed in anger, making Luke suppress a smile.

"You are in error. Darth Krayt is a heretic and a fool. He is not the true Dark Lord. He is merely a usurper, and he found you first, and seeks to use you to supplant me. Believe me, I am the true Dark Lord." She said, her voice cold, and there was more silence.

"This is a strange time," the man said as his voice returned, "in the days of the empire, there never would have been two Dark Lords at once."

"Indeed? What about Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh? They were both Dark Lords in their own right were they not?" she asked pointedly, and the man on the other end chuckled.

"You are clever my lady. Very well, I have contacted the surface. Saber Khai is willing to meet with you." He said, and she smiled beneath her veil.

"Very good. Thank you." She said, signing off.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" Han asked, and she winked.

"It reminds me of the good old days, when people bowed, were polite to all those with power...until your little anarchic rebellion came along and trashed law and order." She said tartly.

"Funny, I don't see any reason to miss those days." K'kruhk said, and she shot him a dirty look.

"How are you going to explain travelling with the Grand Master?" Luke asked, and she frowned.

"I'll think of something. Come, we must depart." She said, as Han guided the ship down to the surface.

The others were all agitated as Luke and Lumiya entered the hold, except for Alema, who, for reasons best known to herself, was sitting upside down in the seat. Shaking his head as he saw her, Luke turned to all the others.

"Alright, she got us down, now all we need to do is not get killed." He said uncertainly.

"Oi, Alema, come on." Jacen called, and she rolled to her feet.

"Yes, most Sith Lords are expected to have a pet of some sort. Some have rancors, some have nexus, I get an insane, mauled Dark Jedi." Lumiya said drily.

Alema flounced past her, as Han set the ship down. Lumiya then swept to the front of the crowd, and Jacen then pulled Ben a little aside.

"Stay close to me alright? I don't want you getting into trouble while we're down here, and I don't trust Lumiya to save you quite frankly if you do get into trouble." He said, and Ben glared up at him.

"I didn't mean..." he began sullenly, and Jacen gave him a quick smile.

"I know you didn't mean what happened on Prakith, that was an accident. My point is, this is a planet full of Sith, and if they find out you're the son of the Grand Master they might just try to have a go at you. And while I'm pretty sure you could flatten any of them," he said, and Ben grinned a little, "I'd rather you tried to avoid them, just in case they want a diplomatic incident, somehow I don't think mom's expertise stretch to Sith." He said, and Ben nodded.

"I'll be careful." He promised.

Lumiya opened the hatch and swept out, giving them their first look at Kesh.

They were inside a city with high stone walls, the work on the buildings was harsh yet elegant at the same time. Glass towers glistened in the sun, and all through the city, there were statues and plants and other works of art.

"Weird for Sith." Jaina muttered as she nosed around.

"Indeed. Look at the temple." K'kruhk said, pointing.

It was relatively small by their standards, considerably smaller than their own temple on Coruscant. A large curved dome was in the centre, and there were large, rising towers coming from it, backing into the mountain. All across it, various statues were glistening in the sun.

"There is also elegance to Sith culture." Lumiya said irritably, and Luke snorted.

"Yeah, elegant forms of death and destruction." He said, and she glared at him.

"I could say the same of the Jedi Skywalker. Did you ever hear of Darth Vader? He did a lot of destruction as a Jedi even before he became a Sith. A Jedi called Brand killed hundreds of bystanders during the Clone Wars. You yourself killed millions when you blew up the Death Star. The Jedi are just as destructive as the Sith you arrogant Jedi fool. The fact that we are ruled by our passions just makes us seem the more destructive. And the lightsaber my dear Luke, that came from the Jedi, and how many lives have been ended upon one of those beautiful little _Jedi_ creations?" she hissed, and strolled away from him, a giggling Alema following.

"She got you good." Ben said with a small grin, and Luke glared at his son and followed her out into the open air spaceport, the bright, watery sun glistening onto the city.

A man, dressed all in black, was standing at the entrance to the spaceport, waiting for them. A tall man, clad all in black, a lightsaber at his waist, it was clear he was the one who had been sent to meet them. Behidn him, there were several curious purple skinned natives, and a few more humans who were standing behind him too, most of them wielding lightsabers, though most of them were either fairly old or just in their teens, like Ben.

"Greetings Saber Khai." Lumiya said, advancing towards him, and he gave her a respectful nod.

"We welcome you to Kesh. Though I must admit, I was surprised by your appearance. After all, you are the second Dark Lord we have received in the last few days." He said, extending his hand to shake hers.

"Darth Krayt is nothing more than a glorified, usurping Dark Jedi with delusions of grandeur. I assure you, I am the true lord of the Sith." She said, and was about to speak again when she heard someone scoff.

Ben edged closer to Jacen, as it appeared as if Khai had frozen, and Lumiya was looking murderous.

"I think whoever did that just broke some Sith rule of etiquette." He said, and Jacen nodded.

"Turg, go back to the temple." Khai said, his voice tight and furious, pointing in the direction of the temple.

Lumiya then used her hand to lower Khai's, and scanned the crowd.

"No, don't go home Turg. Come, let me see you." She purred, and a large heavyset man ambled from the crowd, his wicked eyes looking at Lumiya, distinctly unimpressed.

"You seem disbelieving that I am the Dark Lord. Any reason why?" she asked, her voice silky, and Mara suppressed a shudder, because this was not going to end well for the one who had mocked her.

"You just do not seem the sort." He answered, his voice barely respectful.

"I must apologise lady Lumiya, after all, he is only a librarian, his time in our archives has dulled his already impaired senses. He will trouble you no further." Khai assured her, but she raised a hand to quell him.

"Indeed Turg? A librarian, has the nerve, to pass judgement on me? Do I not feel darker than Krayt? Do you assume that because I am older, that because I'm a woman, I ought not to be the true lord of the Sith?" she asked, and Turg fidgeted a little.

"I only meant that you can hardly be the true lord of the Sith. For several of the reasons you just mentioned. You may be darker than Krayt, but that alone does not make you Sith. I was born and raised Sith, how about you?" he asked belligerently.

"Turg, stay your tongue!" Khai yelled, but Lumiya shook her head.

"No my friend. I will deal with this. So Turg, you asked me a question. You are right, I was not raised a Sith, but Krayt was a Jedi." She said, and K'kruhk, Luke and Mara all looked at each other with just as much surprise as those in the crowd did.

"I may have started my training late, but I am still a pure Sith, one of the last I thought until I learned of you. I was also part of the imperial court, where I learned not to tolerate insolence such as yours. Krayt may be a fool, but he does know how to inspire respect. I assume you didn't question him?" she hissed, and Turg smiled.

"He was not a woman, even if he was a Jedi once. What can a weak little thing like you do?" he asked, and she smiled evilly, and Jaina half considered covering Ben's eyes, as she knew this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Demonstrate my power as the true Lord of the Sith." She growled, and raised her hand.

Turg immediately began to panic as he was lifted effortlessly into the air. With a simple gesture, she crashed him into the wall, then into the ground, then into another wall. She then threw his whimpering body into the back of the ship, burning his skin, and as his robes caught fire, she spun him through the air, before gesturing slightly with her fingers, making loud popping noises echo across the silent square as she wrenched each arm and each leg out of its socket. She then brought the screaming Sith before her as he whimpered and smouldered, his eyes streaming, blood dropping from numerous cuts.

"Now you see the folly of challenging your Dark Lord." She hissed.

"Please my lady, I was in error, please, spare me..." he begged, and she scoffed as he had done.

"You expect a true Sith to show mercy? I think not." She whispered then crushed her hand together, and there was a loud series of cracking noises as she crushed every bone in his body, including his skull. She then dropped the misshaped corpse, with its now oval head, onto the ground, grey matter coming out of the ears and eyes.

"Any more challenges to my authority?" Lumiya demanded angrily.

"No my lady. All hail the true Dark Lord of the Sith!" Khai yelled, and all present bowed before her.

"That's better." Lumiya said, winking at Alema.

"My lady, I must ask, how do there come to be two Dark Lords? And why have you polluted our planet with the presence of Jedi?" Khai asked, and Lumiya frowned.

"Believe me, I didn't want to bring them. Krayt is a fool and a usurper, he seeks to knock me from the throne and take my plans to pass them off as his own. He has persuaded your superiors that he is the true Dark Lord when he is really far from it." She grumbled.

"And the Jedi?" Khai asked, glaring at them.

"I think such matters are best discussed within the temple Saber Khai." Lumiya said, and he nodded respectfully.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Very well, we shall move to the temple. What of the Jedi?" Khai asked, giving Luke a mistrustful look.

"We're coming with you." Luke said, and Lumiya glared.

"I don't think so Skywalker. It is a _Sith _temple, not a Jedi one, and quite frankly, I expect they could do without the pungent reek of the light side creeping through it. Alema will come with me, you will stay here." She said, and Luke strolled towards her, standing right in front of Lumiya, glaring.

"This threat concerns us all. Just because you're going all Imperial complex on us doesn't change that. We're here to do a job, to stop Abeloth, not to help in your private little war with Krayt. We're coming with you."

Lumiya gave him a cold smile.

"Really Skywalker? Look behind me." She challenged smugly, and Luke looked up to see all of the Sith present igniting their lightsabers, including Khai.

"Step away from the Dark Lord." Khai said, and Lumiya noticed as Luke's hand fell to his lightsaber.

"Luke, do not do anything we will all regret. This is their world, and this makes it Lumiya's mission, not ours. If they so wish us to, we will remain here, she can take Alema and report back to us later." K'kruhk said sagely, and Luke glared at Lumiya, who had a confident smile on her face.

"Step back Skywalker." She purred, and Luke did retreat.

Khai shot him a look of contempt.

"Jedi are clearly no better than they were for our ancestors. You ought to learn your place Jedi." He snarled, and Lumiya raised a hand to stem his criticism.

"That's the problem with the Jedi my friend, they're so used to thinking of themselves as the heroes, they have become much too arrogant, overconfident and foolish. They are a corrupt, arrogant breed, and it's only getting worse. They think all should bow before them, even though the galaxy is becoming less tolerant of them by the day. Come Alema." She said, glaring at Luke and Alema hobbled up to her, earning her a disgusted look from Khai and they were just about to leave the others behind when a girl of about sixteen rushed through the crowd, slightly out of breath.

"Whoa." Ben said in appreciative surprise, seeing the attractive girl as she came to a stop in front of Lumiya, Alema and Khai.

Jacen however, heard this, and rolled his eyes as he saw what Ben was looking at.

"Oh brother." He moaned in resignation as Ben checked the girl out.

"Father..." she said, panting a little, and Khai turned to Lumiya.

"My lady, may I present my daughter Vestara?" he asked, and Vestara looked at Lumiya, then bowed.

"My lady." She said with slight reverence and Lumiya smiled.

"Rise Vestara, get your breath back." She said, her ever alert eyes not missing the fact that Ben was checking her out rather unabashedly.

"My lady, forgive the intrusion. Father, something is wrong with the apprentices." She said anxiously, and Khai shot her a sharp look.

"Wrong in what way?" he asked quickly, and she looked nervously back the way she had came.

"They are acting strangely, shouting at things that aren't there, saying people aren't real, but as time has gone on, they've become more hostile towards others than each other." She explained and K'kruhk suddenly appeared, exchanging a dark look with Lumiya.

"We might know the cause of this. Where are the apprentices?" he asked and Khai was about to respond, most likely irritably, when red lightsabers suddenly blazed to life down the way Vestara had come from.

Luke groaned under his breath. Around twenty students, around Ben and Vestara's age, all of them with mad, wide eyes, all wielding red lightsabers. But why wasn't the girl affected?

"Stand down!" Khai barked as the gathered people without lightsabers scurried for cover.

"They are the main copies, the leaders! We must take them to the Majestic One!" the one in the front yelled angrily, and Leia hissed.

"Guess that proves it's Abeloth then. What do we do?" she asked.

"Don't wait for them to make the first move, but only incapacitate them!" Lumiya barked, igniting her whip and flipping through the air.

Alema then followed suit, as Lumiya landed catlike in the crowd of students. Lumiya kicked upwards, catching one right in the chest, before blasting him into the wall with a Force push. Gavar Khai then also joined the battle, stopping a girl's wild swing and beginning to engage her. Alema gave a war cry and began to push back one student, while Lumiya broke the leg of another with a well placed kick. Leia and Mara entered the fray together, both of them up against each other's backs, holding off four students between them. Luke and K'kruhk simply raised their hands, blowing several Sith apprentices off of their feet. Two went right for Vestara and she was automatically on the defensive, blocking their attack with her own red lightsaber. She kicked out, catching her attacker in the chin before sending a jet of lightning into him. Ben leapt into the battle, blocking several swings, and also ducking Lumiya's whip in order to get the apprentice who was about to stab K'kruhk while he battled another apprentice. Jaina gestured at several bins, throwing them at the attacking apprentices.

"Fight the copies!" their leader encouraged, nicking Alema's foot, making her yelp in annoyance.

Jacen rolled his eyes and centred himself in the Force, catching each mind, chaotic and erratic as they were, of the apprentices in a tight Force grip, and with a gesture, they all dropped to the ground, their thoughts removed, their sabers deactivating as they clattered to the ground. Jacen panted a little while his father looked at him in proud concern, and Khai nodded respectfully.

"Your power is great boy, you have my thanks. Otherwise we would have spent a lot of time dealing with them that we cannot afford to waste. Quickly, secure them in the temple." He ordered several other Sith who were rushing towards them.

Lumiya, Luke and K'kruhk all looked at each other worriedly, and reluctantly, Luke nodded.

"I don't see how we have a choice, we need to tell him what happened. Especially with Sith justice, what's the Sith policy on regicide?" he asked in confusion, and K'kruhk looked at her curiously.

She smiled slightly.

"It depends on the time of day, sometimes it is actively encouraged, but other times it is rather frowned upon." She said, and Khai bowed to her as he came over.

"My lady, forgive me, but I must attend to the attackers." He said, and she shook her head.

"No Khai. They are not to blame, what happened wasn't their fault. Is there somewhere we can go away from the ears of the commoners?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, the temple, as was the original plan. The Jedi cannot come." He said, glowering at Luke.

"Agreed. However, may I suggest a compromise? Let us bring K'kruhk, he is the most knowledgeable about this threat that we face, it would be wise to have him with us." She said, and after scrutinising K'kruhk, he relented and nodded.

"Very well. You may bring the other woman if you wish, not the small one, she reeks of the light, the darker one." He said, and Lumiya nodded.

"Very well. Oi, Mara!" Lumiya called, beckoning her over, and Khai leaned in close to Lumiya as Han and Leia helped the orderlies put the defeated apprentices onto a kart to take them back to the temple.

"The eldest boy, the one who defeated the apprentices, he would make a fine Sith." He whispered, and Lumiya smiled.

"Yes he would. But I have bigger fish to fry." She whispered as Mara joined them and Gavar took them towards the temple.

XX

"What's up uncle Luke?" Jaina asked in concern, as Han and Leia talked with the guide Gavar had appointed.

"I'm worried about Mara, we shouldn't have let her and K'kruhk go off on their own with Khai, I don't trust him." He said, and she bit her lip nervously.

"Neither do I to be frank, but we are kind of outnumbered. Lumiya seems to be calling the shots here though, and she won't let anything happen to us." She reasoned, and Luke snorted.

"She's right kid, whether she likes it or not, Lumiya needs us. And besides, I think she gets some sort of perverse pleasure from keeping us alive." Han muttered and Luke allowed himself a grim smile.

"Yeah only so she can contemplate killing us herself. I don't know, just being here is making me feel uneasy." He said worriedly, and Leia frowned.

"We are on a planet full of Sith. Speaking of, where are Jacen and Ben?" she asked, distracted by the absence of her son and nephew.

"Your children will be fine. The Dark Lord has commanded that you are not to be harmed. We will honour that." Their guide said irritably continuing to lead them on.

"Touchy isn't he? Alright we're coming." Han said impatiently, as Jain closed her eyes, and found Jacen and Ben in the marketplace, her brother torn between amusement and exasperation. She shook her head. Must have something to do with the Sith girl they saw then.

"Did you see the ships in orbit?" Leia asked, and Luke nodded.

"Yeah, and I don't relish the thought of Lumiya getting anything close to getting her hands on them." He said darkly, and Han frowned.

"There weren't that many ships though, its not as if she can do much with them." He reasoned and Jaina smiled slightly.

"You just doomed yourself to a lecture on not underestimating your opponent." She said and Han grinned while Luke shot her a dirty look.

"I'm going to ignore that. My worry is what an entire planet full of Sith might be up to. I know Lumiya is less than complimentary of Krayt, but the idea of a Sith Lord getting their hands on a planet full of Sith complete with a fleet is making me uneasy. We're going to have to warn the Alliance." He said, and Leia frowned thoughtfully.

"I get that you're worried Luke, but if we alert Chief Ak'la we might just make matters worse. It'll put her and the fleet on their guard, and we're stretched thin as it is." She reasoned.

Han shrugged.

"It's not as if we can do much anyway. The Alliance is spread thin, so are the Jedi and now we have another group of Sith running around. You guys suck by the way." He said, and Luke glared at him.

"Oh as if you could do better." He said grumpily.

"Point being, why didn't the Council sense them? A planet full of Sith has to create a disturbance in the Force and we were blindsided by it. True, there was the added benefit that Lumiya was blindsided too, but still..." Jaina said and Luke looked to the sky, where the Sith ships were hanging in orbit.

"The dark side is getting stronger, its making it harder to see the future, to get a full perception of events. The galaxy is getting darker, there's threats growing in all corners, and now there's Sith everywhere. It's making me uneasy." He said darkly, as their guide talked to Han about the first ship he had pirated.

"Doesn't seem to be bothering the Sith that much." Jaina pointed out, and Leia looked to Luke questioningly.

"Could they be causing it?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"I wouldn't put it past them to be a part of it, but the Force is getting too dark too quickly to just be them, there's more going on here. Like Abeloth." He said darkly, and Han looked at him while their guide looked for a place for them to eat.

"Yeah, how come she managed to affect the students here?" he asked, and Luke shrugged.

"No idea, we can only hope K'kruhk will know more. But if she can influence across the galaxy now, her power is growing, and we're running out of time." He said worriedly, and Leia nodded, then looked up ahead, sure she had just seen Ben and Jacen with another guide.

"Why wasn't Khai's daughter affected by her powers though?" she asked, and Jaina shrugged.

"We don't even know that mom. But as for powers, she's certainly affected Ben." She said, grinning and Luke groaned, making the others laugh.

XX

After Lumiya, with help from K'kruhk, had caught Khai up on the threat that Abeloth posed to the galaxy itself, they had retreated to the library to try and find any information that may be able to help them. Both K'kruhk and Lumiya had been impressed by the large domed room, with rows upon rows of ancient books, scrolls, holocrons and other dark side infused objects. Several young apprentices, older than the ones who had attacked them, were now busy helping them sort through the library, trying to impress Lumiya and most likely trying to hint to Khai that they could take up the now vacant position of librarian if asked.

"I still don't see how she could have affected apprentices here, when you claim she is half a galaxy away." Khai said, and Mara shrugged.

"According to your instructor they were in a joint meditation at the time, it probably lit them up for her and she attacked them through the Force. Can you think of any mentions that could be even tenuously linked to her?" Mara asked, and he shook his head.

"I am not a librarian Jedi." He sneered.

"I'm still intrigued as to how your daughter wasn't affected by Abeloth." Lumiya said, watching Alema warily as she chased an insect.

"My daughter is one of the most advanced students remaining on the planet." Khai said grimly, and Lumiya smiled.

K'kruhk then bent down to whisper to Mara.

"We need to find out exactly what this tribe is packing, how much Krayt ran off with. Try and head them off at the pass so to speak." He said, and she nodded.

"Agreed. But look at all this stuff, think how powerful Lumiya could become with all of this at her command." She muttered, and he looked at her darkly.

"What about these?" Alema asked, chewing on the insect that she had got, making Lumiya look slightly sick, and she inspected the holocrons the Dark Jedi was holding up for her inspection.

"One of them makes reference to the Beast." One of the fresh faced library assistants explained, a girl called Suhale, showing a scroll to Lumiya, who, after looking at it curiously, beckoned the others over.

"'The Beast, a bringer of chaos, this creature is beyond comprehension, powerful beyond all the greatest lords of the Sith. This creature feeds on darkness. You would do well to fear it, for it is our end, and all other ends'." Lumiya recited, and Mara looked at her worriedly.

"You reckon it could be Abeloth?" she asked, and K'kruhk shrugged.

"Could be, something as ancient and powerful as her will go by many names. When is it from?" he asked, and Suhale smiled eagerly.

"Over six thousand years old, it was an account by Aloysius Kallig, he was a Sith Lord who spoke out against established doctrine, both political and religious. He was a rival of Tulak Hord." she explained, and Lumiya nodded.

"Thank you young one. We will take this and any and all such texts. Any holocrons from this era would be most useful as well. Make it so." Lumiya ordered, as the girl scampered off eagerly.

"This thing...could it be made to serve our purposes?" Khai asked quietly once checking Mara and K'kruhk were out of ear shot.

Lumiya shook her head.

"Somehow I doubt it. Are you sure there are no other things that might be of use?" she asked, and, after some consideration, pulled a book from the shelf.

"I do not know if this will be of use to you my lady, but this is the codex of our people, it may get be of use to you, I don't know, but some of our legends...one in particular seems familiar but I can't place it." He said, and she nodded.

"I will investigate once we are back on the ship. And I doubt Abeloth will willingly bend to our will, she can influence things from half a galaxy away, if she can do that I dread to think what else she could do. No, we will assist the Jedi in destroying her." She said, and he nodded respectfully.

"As you will my lady." He said as K'kruhk examined another scroll.

"Tell me my friend, exactly how much did that fool Krayt make off with?" she asked in a deadly voice, and he looked at her in embarrassment.

"Lord Vol took the vast majority of the fleet, including the two Star Destroyers, _Victory _class I believe he said they were. Aside from the ships in orbit, he took the rest of the ChaseMaster frigates, the Nebulons, the stealth ship, and the Dreadnaughts, even though many of the Circle argued that the Dreadnaughts should remain behind to protect the planet." He said, and she nodded.

Clearly, due to the location of Kesh once they had discovered how to pirate ships, they had simply been poaching them from the nearby Corporate Sector. As Khai elaborated on the number of ships that the Tribe had, she found herself cursing Krayt more than usual. Two VSDs would be very helpful in any case, but combined with Munificent frigates, Nebulons, Dreadnaughts and various other ships from the Corporate Sector ships, it was clear that the Tribe fleet was quite considerable in its own way. And now Krayt had squirreled it away on Korriban, and given his way, would most likely combine it with his own fleet, which she already believed to be quite substantial, to try and defeat hers when the time came.

Curse the treacherous nature of the Sith.

But now, the Tribe had joined Krayt. Which in some ways was useful. After all, if they had joined the One Sith, that meant they would join Krayt, who was doing little else other than consolidating his forces, which she had to admit suited her own ends slightly. After all, there were so many disparate dark sider groups across the galaxy, any one of them might get delusions of grandeur and try to interfere with her plans, and by gathering them all to him, he was keeping them occupied. And, being all in one place, if she had need of them, she could easily call on them. Or kill them.

However, just like the other dark side groups the usurper was assembling to his side, the Tribe joining him could potentially bite her in the ass. For a start, it was making Krayt's faction exponentially stronger, and while he had already outnumbered hers, now things were going to rather ridiculous levels. Krayt could also easily deploy the factions against her plan. And what was more, every group he assembled added more knowledge, power and typically more ships to his faction. And while some of the ships he would assemble would be only freighters or transports, still, he would soon outnumber and outgun her, and if she couldn't persuade Vongerella to play the game, then the usurper could pose a serious threat to her plans. And now the Tribe had also joined him, a group of Sith that could easily tip the scales either way in the balance of power between the three main claimants to the throne of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

And that of course was providing Vol didn't become totally consumed with power and try and make a name for himself at the same time. Between herself, Krayt and Vongerella, along with Collonzas floating about in the wings wanting to become a Sith and the rest of Krayt's faction trying to convince themselves that they were Sith, they had quite enough claimants to the throne to be getting on with without Vol and the Tribe now adding their own particular brand of chaos to the mix. She sniffed. At least they were proper Sith, unlike that fool Krayt and his faction.

"Khai, I find myself in need of your services." She said, and he looked at her questioningly.

"As you know, Krayt is a heretic, a usurper, and is by no stretch of the imagination the true Lord of the Sith. But even now he is spreading his corruption to the Tribe, and that is unacceptable to me." She whispered, making sure the two Jedi, who were currently trying to entice an upside down hanging Alema down from the top of a book shelf, weren't listening.

"What do you wish me to do my lady?" he asked, and she gave another cautious glance and bent in close.

"I need someone to keep an eye on Krayt, and I also need to make sure Lord Vol is not further corrupted by Krayt's influence." She said, and he looked at her curiously.

"Your overestimate me my lady, I am but a Saber, why should Lord Vol listen to me over the Circle and Krayt?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Krayt is a fool and a heretic. Vol must know that the dark side is diluted within Krayt, he will see sense." She said, and Khai looked sceptical.

"My lady, you may underestimate him." He warned, and she waved her hand impatiently.

"It matters not. Either way, you will serve me. I need you there to keep an eye on Krayt and Vol for me. If you persuade Vol that Krayt is a pretender to the throne, so much the better. However it is not integral to my scheme. All I need to do is make sure Krayt doesn't control the entire Tribe, and worse, use them against me. I've been planning for too long and I'm too close now to allow that filthy usurper to disrupt everything just because he got lucky." She sneered, and Khai frowned.

"Lord Vol may be persuaded to go his own way, I doubt he intends to truly serve Krayt anyway. But I would need a good reason for abandoning Kesh, especially with the students going insane. What excuse could I give?" he asked, and she smiled.

"You mean other than the true Dark Lord of the Sith giving you an order? Vol is now absent from his throneworld, that will make him nervous. Tell him his enemies plot against him." She said, and Khai shook his head.

"He won't believe that, most of his enemies are with him." He said, and she smiled.

"Yes, and that is our way in my friend. His enemies are with him, but his powerbase, where he is strongest and where he doesn't have to bow and scrape to another, is here on Kesh. And while his most obvious enemies are with him at Korriban, who is to say the youth of the Tribe hasn't been corrupted against him?" she purred and Khai smiled.

"I believe I am beginning to see where you are going with this my lady. But what about the ships in orbit? If I even take one of them it will reduce the amount of defences the planet has." He said, and she pondered.

Realistically, she would prefer to be able to send the ships to join her fleet, but if her plan was to work, if Khai, who did seem loyal to the true Dark Lord, was to get close enough to spy on both Vol and Krayt, she would need to cement his credentials, especially if they were going to make Vol believe he was being plotted against back home on Kesh.

"Very well. You will need to leave the Citadel cruiser here. Take the ChaseMasters and the Dimels. And as for the transports, I have something else to ask of you." She said, and he looked at her curiously.

"We endeavour to be of assistance my lady." He said, and she nodded, and after making sure that Mara and K'kruhk were occupied once again, this time trying to corral Alema who kept sneaking in between the book cases, she leaned in and lowered her voice.

"Because this alliance against Abeloth has forced me into bed with the Jedi, I require your help. My fleet is at Bimmiel, the planet is deserted and out of the way. However, my fleet is preparing for other missions, and my home, a dark side infused asteroid, is unattended. If you could send the two transports there until I can assure myself of a safety net for the Home, I would be most appreciative." She said, and he bowed.

"As you desire. There is some lore you could have as well." He said, and she smiled.

"Thank you Khai, you truly are a credit to your tribe. Now, while we amuse ourselves watching the Jedi chase Alema, why don't you tell me about what lore there is available, and also about your daughter." She said as Alema shot behind the two Jedi, leaving them furious.

XX

"You okay?" Jacen asked, as Ben looked at some of the produce that was for sale in the marketplace.

"Yeah. Jacen?" he asked hesitantly, and Jacen inwardly braced himself, when he used that hesitant tone of voice, it usually meant one of three things: he wanted something, a girl (most likely the Sith girl) or problems with the family.

"Yeah?" he asked, resolving not to buy him anything despite how much he pleaded.

Ben looked up the street, to where the others were getting their guided tour from the one Khai had appointed to babysit them. Their own guide was following them from the shadows, but as they were only looking at the various bright and colourful stalls, he didn't seem that bothered.

"Do you ever feel sorry for Lumiya?" Ben asked, and Jacen had to admit, that one had caught him slightly by surprise. Trust Ben to take pity on someone dedicated to destroying everything they fought for.

"Well...not really. But I do see what you're getting at, your dad keeps antagonising her. And while I have to admit, I don't get tired of her comebacks, he was acting like a bit of an idiot. We're on a planet full of Sith, who now view her as their queen, and he wants to pick a fight with her? It isn't very clever, and not like him." He said worriedly, and Ben scuffed his foot looking fairly put out.

"I just never expected to feel sorry for Lumiya, I mean, sure she's snarky and she tried to kill mom and dad and aunt Leia but she has been kind of handy, and she stopped us all killing each other on Prakith." He said, and Jacen shrugged.

"I know. Part of your dad's problem is what happened on Prakith I think, kind of a sobering experience for the Grand Master to have to be saved by the Dark Lord. And remember, your mom hated your dad when they first met, she wanted to kill him." He reminded him, and Ben grinned.

"She still does most of the time." He pointed out, and Jacen smiled.

"Yeah but nowadays she's less likely to act on it. He's just worried. Having to work with her is bad enough, Abeloth is out there, and all of a sudden we have Sith coming out of our ears, and Lumiya's enjoying every minute of it. It's bound to be getting to him." He said and Ben sighed.

"I know all that, but...it kind of makes you wonder if Lumiya is right doesn't it? Are the Jedi arrogant? Do we assume we're superior?" Ben asked curiously, and Jacen smiled fondly, and ruffled Ben's hair.

"You remind me of someone else who was questioning everything about being a Jedi at your age." He said, and Ben pouted.

"Great, some me and him can form a club." He grumbled, annoyed that once again he was the odd one out just like he had been all his life, the only one who questioned if the Sith weren't as right about the Jedi as they had always denied.

"We already have." Jacen said fondly, smirking as realisation dawned on Ben's face as he realised who he was like.

Ben's eyes was then drawn by the appearance of the Sith girl who had appeared earlier. Jacen, seeing his cousin stop short, looked round, and rolled his eyes as he saw what had attracted Ben's attention.

A young girl, about Ben's age, she had light brown hair with dark red streaks in it falling to her shoulders, with dark brown eyes, and a black swirl tattooed onto her head. She was clad in a tight black jumpsuit, a lightsaber at her waist, and she was clearly interested by what she saw in Ben just as he was with her. Her face was pale and beautiful, and a small scar emitted from her lip, giving her the appearance of a perpetual smirk.

"Force help us all." He groaned, as Ben slipped away from him to go and talk to her.

Jacen pondered. There was nothing wrong with a bit of harmless conversation and teenage flirting. Yeah his uncle and aunt would disagree but they kept trying to smother Ben, and his mother was overbearing enough, never mind if she saw some girl going for her son, let alone a Sith girl. He deserved a break anyway. And he would still be keeping an eye on him anyway.

"Hi." Ben said, approaching her as she took him in, and Vestara had to say, she did find him nice to look at.

Well built, a little taller than she was, he had a confidence, not an arrogance, which she could practically smell off of his father and cousins. He had kind blue eyes, messy red hair with blond flecks in it that was sort of spiked up, and he had an easy but shy smile as she gave him the once over.

"You're the son of the Grand Master. None of his arrogance though." Vestara said, looking at him in interest.

"Um...I don't know if you know, but out there in the galaxy that you're undoubtedly planning to conquer, it's usually polite to introduce yourself before you make comments about their family." He said, and she smiled, while further back, Jacen cringed, fearing it was a sinister smirk.

But it turned out he actually had amused her, as she relaxed a little.

"My name is Vestara Khai. I'm a Tyro, an apprentice." She said, and Ben grinned.

"See how hard that was? Now that I know who you are, feel free to try and conquer the galaxy." He said, and she gave him a sweet smile.

"I might just do that." She said and they began to relax, talking, flirting with each other easily.

"Well what do you know? He didn't scare her off. Now of course aunt Mara is going to kill me but at least he's actually managed to talk to a girl without her swooning because he's the son of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy." Jacen muttered to himself, once more bitterly reflecting on the fact that Ben really had no one his age to talk to.

And it was then that Jacen noticed that their guide had vanished, and was angrily stalking towards Ben and Vestara, who both seemed to be getting on well.

"Uh oh." Jacen said, getting to his feet, but he suddenly found his way blocked by numerous large, arrogant looking young Sith men who materialised from all around him, all of them leering at him unpleasantly.

"Where do you think you're going?" the bulkiest one demanded in a sneering voice, and Jacen gave him a disdainful look, bored.

"To go and help my cousin as your friend seems to have decided he has a problem with him. Now get out of the way." Jacen snarled, ready to take out his lightsaber if need be.

"Savat is our leader. If you wish to harm him, you will have to go through us." One of them sneered, and Jacen rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, that won't bother me in the slightest. What does Savat want with Ben?" he asked irritably, and the tallest one smiled.

"He has registered an interest in Tyro Khai, and now the Jedi scum is trying to influence her." He said with a scowl.

Jacen looked at him, unimpressed.

"Influence her? He's talking to her. Calmly, politely, it's what teenagers do. Well normal ones do anyway." He said sweetly, and the broadest one of Savat's thugs seemed to mull this over, taking a while to realise Jacen was insulting him.

"You will not get past." One of them said, and Jacen glared.

"I won't let you hurt Ben." Jacen growled and the most obnoxious of the four of them barked with laughter.

"Aww, how sweet, maybe he doesn't need to flirt with Khai, his boyfriend is right here!" he crowed and the others laughed.

Jacen shot him an unimpressed look.

"Boyfriend? No. That would be incest. But I am quite protective of him, and if you try and hurt him, you'll find out just how protective." He promised, and the most arrogant laughed mockingly, lighting his red lightsaber.

"Oh we're so scared! You seem to think a lot of yourself Jedi, maybe we should teach you some manners." He said, bringing it to position, and Jacen was suddenly surrounded by red blades.

He sighed. Typical bloody Sith.

"I don't think much of me, I just don't think much of you." He retorted, igniting his green saber, and preparing to defend himself.

They had spent time talking, Vestara describing life on Kesh, Ben describing the bigger galaxy to her, along with some of their more recent adventures. And odd though it was, they were both enjoying themselves. A Jedi and a Sith talking to one another as though they were friends. And it didn't help that their companions were nice to look at either.

"You fought Darth Andeddu?" Vestara asked, slightly impressed as Ben finished recounting their latest adventure.

Ben was about to answer when he was suddenly blown across the square, his head hitting the wall hard and he slumped down, unconscious.

Vestara stood up in surprise, then, sensing satisfaction in the Force, turned furiously to see the cocky smile of Savat grinning at her.

"You're welcome." He said smugly, and she glowered at him icily.

"And what should I be thanking you for? For attacking a guest of the Dark Lord right in front of me?" she demanded angrily, quickly running an eye over Ben, who was out cold.

"He's a Jedi, what were you even talking about? And besides, I have made it clear to your father that I wish for you to be betrothed to me." He snarled, grabbing her arm, but she blasted him away from her with the Force, glowering.

"I'd rather not, I don't care if you told my father you want to court me, I want nothing to do with you Savat." She snapped.

Behind Savat, Jacen, having sensed his cousin get knocked out, was now angry, and took the leg off of one of his attackers, determined to get to Ben.

Savat glared at her.

"I don't care what you want. Our union makes sense, I am powerful, from a powerful family, and you are one of the best of the Tyros and also come from a prominent family. And I won't have my future wife sullied by associating with a filthy Jedi, who shouldn't have even been let on the planet in the first place!" he yelled, and she glared at him, one hand going to her lightsaber, the other reaching to her back for her shikkar.

"I was talking with him, he can be useful to us. And I don't care what you want in your future wife, as I won't be it." She snarled, and he approached her, trying to intimidate her.

"You will do as you're told. Now stand down. You're causing a scene." He growled, and she was, as many people were now watching Jacen duel Savat's thugs, and others were watching her shouting match with Savat himself.

"No." She said boldly, seeing Ben's companions running towards them, and even better, her father and Lumiya's dark presences approaching.

Savat snarled at her fury, considering it ineffective. It didn't matter. After he was married to her, he would soon break her in, break her spirit, and she would be a useful wife. But why...

Unless...

"I don't believe it, you are drawn to him!" he crowed derisively.

Vestara hissed through her teeth. She wouldn't say she was drawn to him exactly. He was nice enough, attractive enough, he had power, he had shown her kindness which she hadn't expected from a Jedi but she wouldn't say she was drawn to him.

"Hardly. You're deluded." She said coldly, and he laughed mockingly, ignoring the cry of pain as one of his friends lost an arm.

"You fancy a Jedi. You are a disgrace to the name of Sith! I will never take you as a wife!" he yelled furiously, disgusted by what he felt.

She smirked.

"Suits me."

"But he won't get you either." Savat grunted, and blasted lethal Force lightning at her, and she was so shocked she couldn't raise her saber in time.

Until it met a blue blade, as Ben, rubbing the back of his head, had leapt to block the attack with his lightsaber. Glaring at Savat angrily, he lunged at him, forcing Savat to draw his own red lightsaber to block the attack.

"You Jedi scum, you come here, corrupt my future wife..." Savat snarled as Ben easily parried his blow.

"Hardly, I was just talking to her, and then you attacked me. How can I corrupt her anyway? We were only talking." He said, kicking Savat in the chest, grinning as he watched a relieved looking Jacen ensure one of Savat's thugs never had children.

"You talked to my betrothed, and corrupted her! She is a woman, easily seduced!" he yelled angrily, annoyed that Ben wasn't even trying, he was simply blocking his attacks with ease, he didn't even have to work for it.

Ben scoffed.

"Trust me, women are generally better at staying uncorrupted, present Sith Lord excepted. There's been a lot more male Sith, and they've generally messed up the galaxy a hell of a lot better than a female has. And you can't get corrupted just by having five minutes of conversation with someone. Now, that is for treating her like an object," Ben said, lancing his blade into Savat's leg and making him yell in pain, "that is for being a sexist idiot," he said, slicing his enemy's shoulder, "and that is for ambushing me and thinking you would get away with it!" he said, cleaving Savat's lightsaber in two and then Force pushing Savat, whimpering, to the ground, as Jacen chopped the ear off of his remaining thug and ran over to check him.

"Are you alright?" Jacen asked, sensing the rising hostility within the crowd, and preparing to fight if need be.

"Yeah, bit woozy though." Ben said, staggering a little now that the adrenaline was going down and Jacen gently steadied him as the others arrived, Luke, Leia and Jaina with their sabers drawn.

"You protected me." Vestara commented, surprised by what she found herself saying, and also the feelings of gratitude she had towards him all of a sudden.

"Kid, we need to get out of here." Han muttered as a lot of Sith were suddenly becoming a little too close to their lightsabers, clustering around them all, looking angry.

"What happened here?" Lumiya's voice cracked over the marketplace, and the Sith all backed off, allowing her, Khai, K'kruhk, Alema, Suhale and a concerned Mara past, and Mara went straight to her son and immediately began to fuss.

"My lady, father, Savat here decided to make a nuisance of himself. He attacked Ben without provocation, and then began making a spectacle of himself, claiming he did it to protect me from the young Jedi." Vestara responded quickly before Savat could get a word in.

"Was my daughter in any immediate danger Savat?" Khai asked sharply, and he sneered.

"He was going to corrupt her. And per our discussion last week, I did not want my goods...soiled." he sneered, and as one Lumiya, Ben and Vestara's eyes flashed.

"Your goods?" Lumiya hissed, and the young Sith seemed to have realised that he had just made a foolish mistake because the blood drained from his already pale face in light of the harsh gaze the Dark Lord of the Sith was now sending in his direction.

"This boy has indicated to me a desire to marry my daughter. He is clearly mistaken if he believes that is still an option. Not only have you shamed yourself, and my daughter, and myself, you also failed to do what you intended to do in the first place and kill the Jedi boy, he has beaten you and you are now at his mercy like some beaten dog! You idiot." Khai spat, as the other boys were brought before them.

"And this lot?" Lumiya asked angrily.

"They are his friends, his back up, they engaged Jacen while he attacked Ben." Vestara explained, and Lumiya narrowed her eyes.

"Not only arrogant and sexist, but stupid and cowardly as well. Do not worry young Vestara, you could do much better than this one. So Savat, you attack a guest of the ruling Lord of the Sith, disobeying my express orders in the process, insult and demean the girl you wish to marry, you don't even manage to kill the boy properly, and you also drag your friends in to a pointless little squabble that has maimed them in various ways. What are we to do with you?" she asked angrily.

"My lady, she was talking with the Jedi boy..." Savat protested, but Lumiya then slapped him across the face, something which would have been painful enough at the best of times, but as her hand was metal, it hurt all the more, and Savat let out a girly scream in response.

"Silence!" she barked, and he went silent, as did his goons who were looking up at her in terror.

"Lumiya, what...?" Luke asked, sensing the rising anticipation from the crowd, the anger from Lumiya and Khai, the morbid curiosity from the others, and the cheerful state of bliss of Alema.

"This is a Sith affair Skywalker." Khai growled, as the surrounding Sith's bloodlust began to go up.

"Luke, let it go." Leia whispered, and he turned to her.

"Wait, they aren't?"

"Yeah they are." She said impassively, and Luke looked on in disbelief.

"You disobeyed me. You engaged the Jedi which was useless and above all stupid. What justification do you have for your actions? None. Let me tell you, you stupid, arrogant little boy, only the greatest of all Sith can corrupt someone with a mere conversation, and he died over forty years ago at Endor. Ben is not the greatest of all Sith, he is a Jedi apprentice. If even his father cannot turn someone to the light side with one conversation, he will not be able to do it. Your actions were stupid, arrogant, sexist and above all, pointless. Vestara was in no danger. Ben was in no way trying to corrupt her, which means Savat, you led you and yours into this pointless situation for nothing. What am I to do with ones such as you, hmm? Ones who disobey me? Ones who attack two singular Jedi and still some out the losers? Sith who fail to harm the Jedi, get trounced for their efforts and embarrass me before our guests?"

"I was trying to stop him corrupting her! And I won't be dictated to as one such as you, I recognise Lord Vol as our Dark Lord." Savat yelled in a bratty voice, and Khai shook his head in disgust, before advancing on Savat.

Lumiya held up her hand, staying him while she looked at Savat in disdain.

"You will pay for that boy." She promised, then turned to the others.

"And as for you lot, you have no skill, no imagination of your own, and above all else, no brains. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten involved in this ridiculous farce. The five of you, especially you Savat, are weak, brainless little thugs, and I have no use for such beings." She said darkly, and Vestara felt a dark thrill as Lumiya raised all of them up into the air with the Force, then brought her fist together, totally shattering their skeletons and throwing their dead bodies into a pile while the Sith crowd cheered, Khai looked on in approval, and Vestara and Alema in cold delight.

"She killed them." Han said in slight shock.

"Luke, put your lightsaber down." Mara hissed as Luke turned to the Sith in shock.

"You killed them." He said in disbelief, and Lumiya glared at him.

"Yes Luke. This isn't some nancy little Jedi school where wrong doers are given a slap on the wrist and sent to their room without dinner. This is much more important, we are Sith. That is how it is done. Now, deactivate your lightsaber before this bloodlust filled crowd leaps at you." She hissed, and Luke, glaring but knowing she was right, did so.

"My apologies my lady." Khai said, and she nodded.

"Noted Khai. Now, we have items within the temple that are to be put on the ship. Solo, prepare for departure." She said, and he looked at her in confusion.

"We're leaving?" he asked in surprise, and Mara nodded.

"We've got some stuff we can use. And besides, we better get out of here before all the Sith forget about the truce." She said worriedly.

"you sure you're ok?" Jacen asked in concern and Ben nodded.

"Yeah. So what do we need to do?" he asked, and Mara smiled.

"We need to get all the stuff from the temple to here. So come on, let's go so we can get off this world." She said, and the others went after her, while Han went back to the ship with Leia.

K'kruhk stood, musing on the spot. Luke shook his head as he approached the elder Jedi. He knew what Lumiya had done was what any Sith would do in her situation, but she hadn't had to kill those boys. They had been stupid yes, but that was just murder plain and simple.

"What's up?" he asked, and K'kruhk frowned.

"I don't know young Skywalker. Do you feel that, a growing threat, a sense of menace, like a shadow?" he asked worriedly, and Luke nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but with the Force getting darker by the day, and the fact that we're on a planet full of Sith, how do we know what it is?" he asked, and K'kruhk stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't know, it feels like a pressure, a buzzing, and I have a bad feeling about it. We'd best be cautious. And Luke...I know you don't like it, but Lumiya is the one in charge here and that is how the Sith do things. So I'm afraid we must endure it." He said grimly, and Luke nodded before heading towards the temple with the others.

He knew he had to endure it, and he knew he wasn't acting very Jedi like in constantly bristling at the way Lumiya was running things here, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

XX

"Thank you, for defending me. It wasn't necessary but still, it was nice of you." Vestara said as they continued to load up the ship.

"You're welcome. And he had attacked me too, I just wanted to bring him down a peg or two. But I'm glad you're alright." Ben said kindly, and she smiled slightly at him.

"You are a strange one for a Jedi Ben Skywalker, you're not all I expected." She said curiously, and he grinned.

"Yeah, you're strange for a Sith too. What was Savat's problem anyway?" he asked, and Vestara gave a cold smile.

"You mean aside from being cosmically stupid? You see, marriages within the Tribe are usually organised according to specific levels, like the daughter of a master ought not to marry a son of one of the Circle. Savat obviously approached my father to seek my hand, as his own father was a Saber like my father, at least before Lady Rhea had him killed. Of course!" she said in realisation, and Ben looked at her patiently, waiting for the explanation.

"Savat's father was trying to displace Lady Rhea on the Circle you see? Lady Rhea was rumoured to be considering me to be her apprentice, and by considering, I mean had all but chosen me, I had ki- I mean the other options for her had met unfortunate accidents." She explained.

Why had she hesitated? After all, Ben knew full well she was a Sith and he also knew full well that as a breed they would do whatever it took to get ahead. He had to have known that she had killed them, but for some strange reason she didn't want to admit it to him. She shook her head, obviously him protecting her had messed up her head. Maybe Savat had been right, maybe he had corrupted her slightly, somehow. She would meditate later and purge herself of whatever lingering feelings of gratitude, and whatever else was there, later.

"So what? What's you getting made into her apprentice got to do with him?" he asked, finding it funny, and also slightly sweet that she hadn't wanted to admit to him that she had killed her competitors. Clearly, she was a dangerous girl, but there was something else about her too.

"Well, it was relatively public knowledge that she was going to make me her apprentice. Savat obviously approached my father in order to be given my hand. He intended to use my position as her apprentice against her, so he could avenge his father's death, get close enough to Lady Rhea and kill her. But, he panicked when he saw me talking to you, stupidly, he panicked, believing you to be trying to corrupt me, and hence make it harder for him to use me against the one who should have been my master." She explained, and Ben looked at her curiously.

"Ok, that makes sense, but if it was such a sure thing, how come you aren't with Rhea?" he asked, and she glowered bitterly into the sky.

"Krayt came along. He ordered the vast majority of the Tribe to Korriban, and I, as I wasn't her official apprentice, was left behind. You see, becoming an apprentice requires a sacrifice, a ceremony, and he ordered them there immediately. So there was no time for me to become an apprentice to her before they left." She said sourly, and Ben tried to look apologetic.

"That sucks. Look on the bright side though!" he said cheerfully.

"What would that be?" she asked irritably.

"You got out of your arranged marriage to Savat." He said brightly, and he counted it as a victory when a small smile blossomed on her lips.

"You are a strange one Ben. Thank you for the help." She said, and gently kissed his cheek.

Ben looked at her in surprise as she headed off for the temple. He then smiled. Somehow, he didn't think that was the last he would see of her.

As she headed for the temple, Vestara shook her head, angry with herself. What was she doing? Fair enough she had used emotions as a weapon against her enemies before, but this, this was different. She stood to gain nothing from kissing Ben on the cheek, from interacting with him in such a way. This wasn't one of her victims who she could seduce. After all, he was leaving.

She was being foolish. Maybe Rhea had been right to leave her behind. But, she did have to admit, Ben did have a point. The day's events did indeed remove the need to marry Savat. And the Jedi boy had successfully cheered her up, made her feel happy about being left behind. After all, if she hadn't been here she would still be betrothed to Savat, and she would never have met Ben...

Grunting in frustration, she started to walk quickly towards the temple. Something was wrong with her, Ben had corrupted her, infected her somehow, which was irritating to the extreme. She was a Sith, a follower of the dark side, and some smiling, attractive Jedi boy had gotten to her, made her ashamed of killing, happy to be stuck here while the Tribe moved on, masterless and brat watching stupid apprentices...

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't see where she was going and as she turned onto the cavalcade to enter the temple, she ran headlong into Lumiya, who yelped in surprise as she was knocked off of her feet, the scrolls she had been carrying going everywhere.

Vestara bolted upright, petrified, realising what she had done, however accidentally, had probably just signed her death warrant.

"My lady, I apologise, I wasn't looking..." Vestara babbled, helping Lumiya to her feet.

Lumiya dusted herself off and waved her hand.

"It doesn't matter my dear, could happen to anyone. But something must have gotten you wound up." She said perceptively, gently probing the girl with the Force as Vestara passed the scrolls to her.

"I, well nothing my lady." She said, her head bowed.

How she missed the fear people would once treat her with. Not long and once she assumed her rightful place, she would have it again.

She smiled, figuring what it was that was bothering the girl, the encounter with Savat. But no, she wasn't mourning, she was happy he was dead, it was to do with something else, but what?

"Don't worry child, I remember what you're going through. Vaguely. It happened a very long time ago...in a galaxy far far away..." she said nostalgically, remembering the times when she had actually felt affection for Luke. Luke..., of course!

It had finally clicked. The reason the girl was so worked up, feeling guilty, confused. She didn't care about Savat. Someone else had attracted her gaze. It was so obvious it was brilliant.

Vestara...and Ben.

It was perfect.

Lumiya surveyed the girl. Young, athletic, powerful, beautiful...everything would combine and draw Ben to her. She was also restless, trapped where her talents weren't utilised, where she would always be in the shadow of her father and feeling rather disappointed with her superiors. The fact that she was a Sith, and hence would be in direct opposition to his parents' wishes would be even better, he would be attracted to the bad girl quality, after all, he was his father's son (she remembered a few saucy nights with Luke herself when they had both been younger, and let's face it, the guy had wanted to date his own sister (ignorance definitely wasn't an excuse on that one in her opinion, Obi Wan could have told the poor sap at least)), and what was more he was a teenager, restrained by the legacy of his powerful parents, his famous uncle, his renowned aunt and his famous cousins, relatively friendless without someone his own age to talk to, and had also had a history of teenage rebellion.

Vestara was perfect.

And if her plan failed, she would make a fine back up.

Yes, this was truly a gift from the Force. As always, all was made to work to her advantage. Everything was transpiring according to her design.

Time for the first test.

Lumiya smiled, and squeezed Vestara's shoulder.

"It's a pity you will have to stay here my dear. You could be most useful to me. Most useful indeed." She purred, and headed off, leaving a very confused Vestara standing on the cavalcade.

Vestara looked at the retreating Dark Lord of the Sith. Far from being dead, as she had expected, she was alive, and in a state of confusion. Her last comment...did it imply something? She could be useful to Lumiya, she would endeavour to be useful to her. After all, Krayt hadn't even glanced at her, but Lumiya had seen her, taken her side, spared her life and recognised her power. Lumiya had seemed delighted when she had sensed the turmoil within her.

Could she be of use to her?

Vestara thought about it. Truth be told, she would much rather serve Lumiya anyway. The monster she was chasing, the power she wielded, her dark side presence, all of them showed that she was the true power in the Sith, not the usurper, Skywalker wouldn't join forces with any random Sith, he would want the best. Krayt was a blind fool, making her master leave her behind.

Perhaps Lumiya was giving her a veiled offer of apprenticeship? Or was it more? Lumiya had implied that she could be useful, but to be useful, she would need to go with Lumiya...

Vestara smiled. Yes, she could be useful to Lumiya. Very useful indeed. And implication or not, the job was now hers.

She would join Lumiya. She would apprentice herself to the true Dark Lady of the Sith, it would greatly benefit her plans, her future, her destiny.

And with Lumiya...she would see Ben again.

Smirking to herself, Vestara went to find her father.

XX

"My lady!" Suhale cried as Lumiya and Leia chatted.

"Yes Suhale?" she asked, and the girl respectively bowed to both her and Leia, to Leia's surprise, before going on her knee.

"I hope she isn't going to propose." Leia muttered, and Lumiya smirked.

"If she is, I'll direct her to Ben." She said, and Leia snorted with laughter.

"Good luck explaining that one to Mara." She said, and Lumiya suppressed a smile behind her veil.

If Vestara had any initiative, and sense of ambition, then she would have to explain a teenage Jedi/Sith romance very soon indeed. Which suited her.

"My lady, may I present you with a gift?" the girl asked, and Lumiya nodded.

"I would be delighted Suhale." She said, and the girl smiled and pulled out a pure glass dagger.

"Impressive, most impressive." Leia said in awe as she saw the blade.

"I crafted it from my own hands my lady, my first shikkar. It would honour me greatly if you were to take it." Suhale said, and Lumiya was rather taken aback by the gift. It was indeed a thing of beauty. Inscribed beautifully up the handle, the blade itself was pure, lethal glass.

"You honour me greatly Suhale, this is a thing of beauty, but I cannot accept this." She said, but Suhale looked up rather bravely.

"Please my lady, I wish to be of service even when I am here. I was looking for an appropriate overlord to give it to, but none would take me, now I give it to you." She said, and Lumiya smiled.

"Very well Suhale. I accept your gift. Now, is all in readiness?" she asked, and Suhale nodded.

"Yes my lady." She said eagerly, getting to her feet.

"Then I will see you soon my dear. Through victory..."

"Our chains are broken." The girl said excitedly and ran off.

"I remember what it was like to meet the natives. Most of the time they were trying to kill me." Leia lamented, and Lumiya laughed.

"Don't worry, this lot will happily kill you if I say so. But for now, it suits me to have you alive." She said, and Leia rolled her eyes, looking slightly amused.

"You're enjoying this empress stuff aren't you?" she asked, and Lumiya shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm only human. And besides...it's such fun infuriating your dear brother and have him be unable to do a sodding thing about it." She gloated and Leia failed to suppress a snort of laughter.

She then stopped short, fixing herself as though she was cold.

"Do you feel that?" she asked, and Lumiya, her eyes narrowed in concern, nodded.

"Yes. It's been getting stronger all day. A pressure, a growing menace. At first I thought it was Ben's squabble in the marketplace, but it's a lot more than that. A dark presence, far beyond anyone here. And it isn't Luke preparing anything otherwise you wouldn't feel it. No, something else is wrong." She said worriedly, and Leia gave a nervous look around.

"I think I'll go and tell Han to get the ship ready to go...like now." She said, and Lumiya nodded.

"I agree. The feeling is getting stronger Leia. We ought to be quick." She said worriedly, and Leia headed into the ship.

Lumiya frowned. Something was happening, that much was clear. Pocketing the shikkar, she went to help Jaina and Alema with the last of the artefacts.

XX

"Father!" Vestara cried in frustration.

"No Vestara, that is my final word. I need you here, in case our enemies move against us. I do not want you going off on some sketchy implication from the Dark Lady, am I understood?" Gavar demanded angrily as he and his entourage boarded the shuttle that would take them to the three ChaseMasters in orbit that they would take to Korriban.

"She is our superior." She said angrily, and Khai raised his hand as if to strike her, but thought better of it, she was aggravated enough, and if he pushed her too far she might happily stick a shikkar in his ribs, after all, he had watched her make the lethal weapon.

"And I am yours child. I will be obeyed! Understood?" he growled, and she bowed her head, though her eyes were like laser bolts.

"Yes father." She grumbled, and he smiled proudly.

"You are a fine daughter Vestara. I know you will not fail me. Now, be well." He said, and swept to his shuttle.

A few minutes later, the three shuttles lifted off, bound for the ChaseMaster frigates that would take them to Korriban in order to fulfil Lumiya's mission of spying on Krayt and Vol.

As her father's ship headed for the sky, Vestara smiled savagely.

"I am a fine daughter father. But if you think I am going to turn down the Dark Lady, you can think again." She said, and slipped away from the landing pad, heading to the spaceport, using the Force to summon her bag of things to her and send a mental farewell to her uvak as she did so.

She took a deep breath, and cloaked herself in the Force, hiding her from all perception, hiding herself from the Force. As Mara and K'kruhk helped Jaina with a pallet of food into the hold, she knocked something over with a slight nudge from the Force, and as the three turned to look, she slipped right by them.

So far so good.

She entered the ship proper, and smiled as she found a secret cargo hold. Smiling to herself, she gently pried it open, and making sure she had her pack, saber and shikkar, and lowered herself in, closing the hatch. She would remain her, meditate, and when the time was right, reveal herself to Lumiya. She would have a new master.

And then all the power in the galaxy would be hers.

XX

Khai's three ships had left, with him en route to Korriban to keep an eye on Krayt and Vol and to then report back to Lumiya.

Back on the ground, the ship was prepared, fully stocked, the front cargo hold filled with Sith lore, Lumiya's shikkar secreted away, and they were ready to go. The only thing was, that irritating pressure on the back of their minds was now getting to all of them.

"Even Alema feels it now. Well I'm assuming she feels it, she was talking about a funeral march in her head." Jaina said, joining her father, mother, uncle and Lumiya in the cockpit.

"So it isn't you?" Luke asked worriedly, and Lumiya shook her head.

"No, and it isn't you either. This presence is getting worse. I suggest we get out of here quickly before it gets any worse." She advised.

Luke frowned. It felt like an approaching calamity, a growing menace, and he didn't like it one bit. However, what was bothering him most was the fact that he was sure he had felt it before, he just couldn't think where.

"Alright, if you two can agree on something, it must be bad, let's get out of here." Han said worriedly.

Leia frowned as the ship took off, feeling how nervous Jacen, Mara, K'kruhk and particularly Ben were. The rising presence in their minds was making them all anxious, and making it hard for them to concentrate. It felt familiar, too familiar, and whenever it had happened before, no good had come of it. Mind you, that didn't help much, a lot of things in her past could all have the same moniker applied to them.

Luke stretched out with his feelings, feeling the eddies and currents of the Force. A dark shadow was coming, and would be on them soon, it would be on them before they truly escaped Kesh. And suddenly, back in the hold, something clicked in K'kruhk's mind.

"Saluecami!" he cried in realisation from back in the hold, just as Leia also clicked.

"Kashyyyk!" Leia yelped.

"Borelias." Luke whispered, and Lumiya hissed between her teeth as Han and Jaina looked at them as though they were crazy.

"Orbital bombardment." Luke whispered, and Leia nodded.

"That's the feeling alright." She said, and swore, as the scanners picked up on three large ships leaving lightspeed, and they all looked up in time to see three bone white _Imperial_ class Star Destroyers drop out of lightspeed.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Han demanded, seeing the ships begin to launch TIE fighters of all shapes and sizes.

"What do we do?" Jaina asked, and Leia pointed back.

"Get your brother and get in the gun turret. This isn't going to be pretty. Lumiya, call the Tribe, tell them those Star Destroyers aren't here for show and tell." She said as K'kruhk joined them.

"Three Star Destroyers, what would they be doing here? What ships are they?" he asked, as Lumiya contacted the defence fleet, which was already coming up to form a defensive circle around the _Falcon_.

"My lady, they are registering as friendly." A Sith said over the comm.

"Use your feelings captain. The scanners can be deceived, the Force cannot. They are not here with anything good in mind." Lumiya warned as the five Tribe ships began to power shields and weapons.

"What makes you think they aren't friendly?" Han asked, frowning as he saw the eighteen squadrons of fighters head right for them, three Defender squadrons, five Bombers flanked by five fighters and the five Interceptor squadrons coming right for them and the Tribe ships.

"We can feel the dark side on those ships, the malice. They are not here with good intentions." K'kruhk said worriedly as Jacen and Jaina activated the gun turrets.

"Besides, those bombers are heading for the planet, what use would bombers be unless they're actually going to bomb something?" Luke pointed out, and Han had to admit, it did look as though the new ships were intending to cause trouble.

"How did they register as friendly?" Ben asked as he and Mara appeared in the cockpit.

"They're Krayt's. The flagship, the centre ship, is the _Rising Ashes_. It's the flagship of Darth Cyclone." Lumiya said angrily.

Han looked at her sceptically.

"But that doesn't make sense, if they belong to Krayt, why would he attack Kesh? He'll be attacking his allies." He reasoned, and K'kruhk frowned.

"It's obvious. He's going to frame one of his enemies and ensure himself the loyalty of the Tribe."

"Which is smarter than I've come to expect from him." Lumiya said tartly.

"They're hailing us." Luke said, feeling the dark presence in the Force get stronger.

Leia activated the comm, and a reptilian voice came from it.

"Lady Lumiya, this is Darth Cyclone." He purred, and she growled irritably.

"Cyclone, turn your fleet around and scurry on back to Korriban. You have no business here." She growled, and the Trandoshan at the other end laughed.

"Oh I think I do Lumiya. You see, Lord Krayt needs to ascertain the loyalty of these primitives, and this will bind them to him. The fact that I will get to kill you and the Jedi in the process is an added bonus. Goodbye Lumiya." Cyclone said in contempt.

"Evasive action, now." Luke ordered, just as the three Star Destroyers opened fire.

The fighters then swarmed towards them, prompting the twins to open fire against the oncoming fighter horde as the three Star Destroyers advanced towards the planet, their turbolasers filling the space around them, already having destroyed one of the Etti transports.

"Get your people under cover now!" Lumiya screeched into the comm as the bombers descended towards the planet.

Han immediately had the _Falcon _spinning to avoid the squadron of Interceptors that was now chasing them. Behind them the Tribe ships were launching ships, trying valiantly to get ships to the edge of the system, most likely to go to Korriban so they could alert the others, but the three Star Destroyers were more than up to the challenge.

The _Usurper _was baring down on the Citadel cruiser, its forward turoblasers pounding away at the ships prow shields while its fighters nibbled away at the shields to the port and starboard. The _Dark Union _was dealing with the other remaining ships, blasting away at them as they tried to swarm the Star Destroyer. Fighters were now passing the remaining defensive ships and streaking down towards the planet, which was urgently trying to mount a response to the attack. Fire was streaming from the assault ships, and a well placed volley destroyed the two ships, forcing the remaining Etti transport into retreat. However it was a pointless exercise. The _Usurper _had taken down the Citadel cruiser and was now taking position above Kesh, getting a firing solution on Tahv. The _Rising Ashes _was already there, and a final volley from the flagship destroyed the last of the transports, allowing the three Star Destroyers to move into blockade position above the planet.

The _Falcon _however had its own problems. With the defensive ships now destroyed, all the Interceptor squadrons were now chasing after them, and were now also being joined by the Defenders and fighters.

A heavy blast rocked the back of the ship, making Threepio yell in fright as air started to vent and the bulkheads began to close in order to fix the leak. Artoo was whistling like crazy, and Mara and Ben went tumbling down the corridor as another blast hit the ship.

"He's going to destroy the planet." Lumiya said in dismay, shaking her head in fury and devastation.

Millennia of Sith lore that rightfully belonged to her, and now Cyclone was about to destroy it. He was going to eradicate Sith knowledge so his blasted master could achieve another point in their endless war.

"You kids need to shoot better!" Han yelled as their shields disintegrated entirely, and the Sith pilots now began to pound even harder at the ship, gleefully giving themselves over to the fight.

"How does Krayt have the resources to man three ISDs?" Luke asked, and Lumiya cursed.

That was something she was beginning to wonder herself, and she would make it her first priority if they got out of this one.

"Dad, we need to make for the moon!" Jaina yelled as the ship rocked, and alarms started to blare even louder.

The fighters were getting better, and a blast drilled through the sensor dish and another two opened up more holes in the hull.

"We need to do something!" Mara cried, coming back into the cockpit.

"I don't think we can try what we did at the Home again." Lumiya said, before a blast knocked her screeching down the corridor, and to be met by Alema's sniggering face as Ben scarpered past to the cockpit.

"Don't just stand there, help me up." Lumiya snapped, as the ship took a heavy blast. It seemed as if the ISDs were firing at them in their spare time.

"It doesn't make sense, why would he destroy them? All of you are Sith." Alema said, and Lumiya bared her teeth.

"Because he's a simple minded fool my dear Alema." She hissed as the turbulence of another blast sent them spiralling slightly off their course, but it did allow the twins to blow up another couple of fighters.

"Can you do anything to help?" Alema asked, and Lumiya shook her head.

"No, my fleet is on the other side of the galaxy, the Empire couldn't help either, I don't have many powerful contacts in Hutt space and Collonzas and Nazarn cannot be relied upon, especially when they have other jobs to do. I'm afraid Kesh is on its own." She said, but she vowed Krayt and all his cronies would pay for this outrage.

"Perhaps we should take a hint from Master Horn." Luke reasoned, and Mara looked at him calculatingly.

"What, conjure something in their minds eye?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. We can't take any more hints, and there's nothing we can do. We need to get to ground and fix the ship before we can even get to hyperspace. The moon is our best bet." He said, and K'kruhk frowned.

"It will work, but they will keep looking for us, we'll never get out of the system alive. This Cyclone fellow seems to want us all dead." He said, and Lumiya nodded.

"Yes. He's Krayt's Fist, his military commander, his Executor. He's very dangerous, and one of the ones closest to being a true Sith. He's a good tactical mind, but his loyalty to Krayt makes him even more dangerous. Krayt has ordered Kesh's destruction, and he won't waver from that, or from killing us. We need to make it seem like we're dead." She said, and Ben frowned, then ran back to the gunwell.

"Hey, we need you in here!" Leia cried, as another blast chewed up the front of the ship.

"Wait! Jacen!" Ben cried, and Jacen swore as he destroyed another fighter.

"Yeah?" he called back, wincing as another blast of laser fire just missed them, he supposed he should be grateful the fighters and Interceptors didn't have shields.

"Know how you taught me to hide myself in the Force, to cloud people's perceptions of me, make it like I wasn't there? Can we do that with the ship?" he asked, and Jacen's eyes lit up.

"That might work!" he said, and Ben ran back, and Alema nodded.

"He's right. If we make it seem like we were destroyed, we can hide ourselves in plain sight, they'll back off." She said excitedly, and Leia nodded.

"It's our best chance. But won't Cyclone see through it?" she asked, and Luke shook his head.

"I don't think so, as far as I can tell he's the only Sith lord in the fleet, and he's too far away." He said as another blast hit them.

"Whatever you're going to do, stop talking about it and do it!" Han snapped as another blast rocked the ship.

They were getting closer to the moon, it wasn't far away now, but if this was to work they had to time it just right, they would need to block out the ISDs scanners with the moon itself and leave themselves enough distance to go so it would be believable but not obvious that they weren't dead.

"Let them hit us again!" Mara cried, and the ship rocked once more.

"That's the ticket!" K'kruhk called, and Jaina mumbled that she hadn't planned that.

Han dropped the ship behind the moon's ecliptic, and another blast hit the ship.

"Now!" Luke yelled, and as one, he, Mara, Leia, K'kruhk, Jacen, Jaina, Ben, Alema and Lumiya all created the illusion of an explosion, surrounding themselves in the Force, bending the pilots perceptions of the ship, wrapping light around the ship so as to give it a pseudo cloaking device.

"Nice and easy." Han mumbled to himself, letting the ship drift slowly into the moon's atmosphere and sending them towards a complex cave system.

The atmosphere was tense, and the Force users were tiring as the ship descended, their control as just beginning to slip when Han entered them into the deep cave and shut down the engines. And then as one they let go, sagging in exhaustion, as Artoo boosted his signal, and tweetled that the fighters were heading back to their Star destroyers.

"That was too close." Leia said tiredly.

"At least it worked. Now, we had best shut down all systems if we don't want our ruse discovered, and let us pray the Force has mercy on those poor souls on Kesh." K'kruhk said, and Luke and Mara exchanged dark looks as Ben looked worriedly out at where the edge of Kesh was just coming into view, a beautiful planet about to feel the pain of planetary bombardment.

XX

"They are dead my lord." His sensor officer reported, and Cyclone frowned, tapping his fang with his claw.

"Indeed? I felt nothing...strange. It is irrelevant. It is time we do Lord Krayt's will. Have the bombers finished with the towns and villages?" he asked, and his officer, a Defel, nodded.

"Yes Lord Cyclone, all starfighters are now returning to their carriers." He said, and Cyclone gave a cold grin of satisfaction.

Good. Lord Krayt's will was nearly done. Lumiya was apparently dead, the outlying villages of Kesh destroyed by the bombers, and now they were all appropriately frightened, he could taste their fear up here, it was intoxicating.

These ignorant savages would learn true loyalty to the One Sith when Krayt revealed to them that it was the Jedi, or Lumiya, who destroyed their home. Soon now, the One Sith would rule the galaxy, and he would gladly give his life in order to bring that about.

"Let us destroy the capital first, then we can deal with another cities. Alert all commands. Target Tahv, and open fire!" Cyclone hissed in delight, and he could feel the giddy anticipation of the officers as they keyed in their orders.

And a second later, deadly, destructive green rain began to fall upon the capital city of Tahv.

XX

Turbolaser blasts fell upon the city. Glass shattered, rubble was thrown into the air, fire ignited the sky, buildings were blown apart as the laser fire continued to pound the surface of the planet. Explosions were happening all over the city as the Star Destroyers laid the city to waste. Screaming people were running for their lives, but many more were being immolated or disintegrated by the attack, fires were blowing up everywhere, rubble was falling from the mountainsides, banners and market stalls had massive blazing holes punched through them. Chunks were gouged out of buildings, the spaceport was reduced a smouldering, burning heap, smoke was rising high into the air as people screamed and died painful deaths, either crushed by debris, sent plummeting to their doom as massive fissures were opened in the ground by the blasts or as they were disintegrated in the turbolaser fire. Cracks ripped through the city, hunks of rock fell, fire erupted, gas blasted loose as the entire city was levelled by the combined force of the three Star Destroyers.

The bombardment continued, the city of Tahv a blazing blot of flame on the planet surface as glass turned to liquid as the dreadful fire continued to obliterate all way of life on the planet. Fields were burned to a cinder, dams burst, mountains reduced by the bombardment, and there was a cry in the dark side as priceless dark side artefacts were lost to oblivion.

And then the three ships focused their firepower on the temple, shattering its windows, turning them to molten rivers, massive chunks of masonry began to fall off, statues were toppled, tomes and books scorched, as the entire edifice was destroyed, crushing all within it. Suhale took a last look up, from her position on the floor of the library and saw a deadly green blast hurtling towards her. She gave one last scream and felt the entire building began to collapse around her just as the blast hit and ended her scream abruptly.

The three Destroyers continued to blast the surface, igniting as much of the planet as they could their lethal downpour of deadly green energy continuing as they obliterated every building and population centre on the planet. The ships continued to blast away, and very soon, though the laser fire continued, all that was left were the burning remains of Sith civilisation, the bodies of the dead and the cries of the wronged.

XX

Ben screamed as he felt the deaths of the people on the planet, he could feel them all crying out in pain and terror as Cyclone destroyed their planet. He was screaming, he couldn't stand the pain, it was unbearable, how could people feel this pain and live?

"Ben! Ben!" Luke cried urgently, trying to calm him.

"Sweetie, it's ok, calm, calm..." Mara pleaded, but she knew it was futile, he was lost in his memories, feeling all the pain of the Vong War all over again, the cries of the dying Sith igniting a primordial fear, a basic terror within her son, he was feeling all those deaths, all over again, and it was destroying him.

"Ben, shh." Jacen whispered, holding Ben to him as Ben clutched at his hair, feeling the screaming, petrifying deaths of all those on the planet, screaming in pain along with them as his father, mother and cousin desperately tried to centre him in the Force and reality, afraid of losing him to the pain of the past, to the abyss of a broken mind, or worse, of death. As they did so, the others, even Lumiya and Alema, looked on in fear at what the boy was going through, all of them hating what was happening to him as the Force raged with the cries of the dead as the planet beneath them burned.

XX

In her hiding place, Vestara screamed in pain as she felt her world die, and as she did so, she looked desperately for anyone, she didn't care, just some link to reality to save her from falling into insanity or death. She could feel her people dying, her home being destroyed, the death of her uvak, the death of her mother, her friends, they were all burning in the fires of desolation.

"No..." she gasped, seeking someone.

And then she finally found someone, a tormented but bright light, someone to guide her, and she felt the light reach for her just as she reached for it, a lifeline, a bright spot in the galaxy that had suddenly gone dark. And as the bombardment continued, she could hear part of the thing she had latched on to, part of their thoughts, like a smooth ocean, and she knew who she had just bonded with.

They were part of each other now, two parts of the whole, both of them instinctively creating a Force bond to try and save themselves, and wound up saving each other. And her was hers, the last person she expected or wanted to be bonded to.

Ben.

XX

The _Victory _Star Destroyer _Crimson Oath_, was, other than the ceremonial and ancient Sith Dreadnaught _Omen_, the flagship of the Lost Tribe of the Sith.

Currently, the _Crimson Oath_ was flanked by its sister ship, the _Red Harvest_, and the _Omen _itself. Above them was the _Eternal Crusader_, a _Recusant _class light Destroyer. The rest of the Tribe's fleet was surrounding them, keeping a discrete distance from the many ships that made up the fleet of the One Sith. Around the central ships of the Tribe fleet, there were over two dozen ChaseMaster frigates, five Dreadnaughts, nine Nebulon frigates, eleven Munificent frigates, and various other smaller ships, including armed freighters, more Etti transports and Dimel assault ships, several more Citadel cruisers and to round off the fleet there were four Marauder frigates.

But it was on the _Crimson Oath_ where the news had been received. And now, Grand Lord Darish Vol was in his stateroom, with the Circle seated around him, looking at the bowed form of Gavar Khai and of the apprentice of Darth Cyclone, a Vagaari male by the name of Darth Cataegis, and the mood was not good. Far from it.

"I only just heard. My master went to Kesh to see to the relocation of the last of your people here to Korriban, and the planet was already burning my lord Vol." Cataegis explained and Vol brought his hand together in a tight fist, furiously.

"The entire planet?" Sarasu Taalon demanded in fury.

"Yes lord Taalon. Kesh is gone, it's people obliterated." Cataegis reported grimly.

"Our entire planet, gone...who would dare attack us?" Sashal demanded furiously.

"I know not my lady Sashal." Cataegis responded smoothly.

Vol held up a hand. Their planet was gone. All the civilians, his people, his power...all of it was now gone, destroyed in an instant. Their enemies had struck, and had struck ahrd, fast and deep.

"We will hunt them down and destroy them for this outrage. Do we have the support of the One Sith in this?" Olaris Rhea demanded, and Cataegis nodded politely.

"Yes Lady Rhea, we will help you destroy whoever did this, you have our utmost effort in this endeavour." The soft voice but dangerous Vagaari replied.

"Well, perhaps we should start with their agent to find out who is behind this. Gavar Khai here was charged with the defence of Kesh, and now our planet burns, our people dead, our home destroyed. Who do you work for?" Ivaar Workan demanded, lightning crackling at his fingertips.

"My lords and ladies, I made a grievous error. But the Dark Lord gave me an order, I could not refuse." Khai explained, and Vol arced an eyebrow.

"Krayt gave you an order?" he asked suspiciously, and Khai shook his head.

"No my lord. Lady Lumiya, the true Lord of the Sith." He said, ignoring the presence of Cataegis.

Vol frowned. He knew there was currently a three was power struggle going on for dominion of the Sith, between the cyborg Lumiya, the alien Vongerella and the usurper Krayt. And truth be told, he would prefer to follow Lumiya than Krayt, it was clear that the light side had long since tainted their so called 'Dark' Lord.

However, while he acknowledged Lumiya as the true Dark Lord of the Sith, that was only for the moment. Because very soon, there would be a new Dark Lord.

Him.

But now, his position was perilous. He had aligned the Tribe with Krayt, and now Kesh had been obliterated. Cataegis would immediately report to Krayt and Wyyrlok if he erred to Lumiya's side, and then the Tribe would be exterminated. He also needed to regain his own power. The loss of Kesh was a substantial loss, but not an insurmountable one. So where did he go from here?

He was spared the necessity of an answer by the arrival of a sombre Darth Wyyrlok.

"My lord Vol, my condolences for the great loss you and yours are suffering." The Chagrian said, bowing respectfully.

"Thank you lord Wyyrlok." Vol said, as Jesko Umarn prepared to kill Khai.

"We are just about to kill the fool who allowed it to happen." He snapped, and Khai looked up at him boldly, prepared to meet his fate.

"Do you know any more?" Ysadria Kaladris asked, and Wyyrlok nodded.

"Indeed we do Lady Kaladris. It seems Kesh was destroyed by Star Destroyers. Three of them to be exact. But by all means, kill Khai." Wyyrlok said, and Umarn and Workan prepared to kill Khai when Takaris Yur raised a hand to restrain them.

"Hold. Khai, Lumiya ordered you away you say?" he asked, and Khai nodded.

"Yes my lord. To spy on Lord Krayt and Lord Vol for her." He said, and Wyyrlok was slightly surprised, he hadn't expected Lumiya to move so rashly.

"I see. Lord Wyyrlok, does not Lumiya command a fleet of three Star Destroyers?" Yur asked, and Wyyrlok could have cried with joy.

He thought he would have to manipulate them into blaming Lumiya. He had originally intended to blame the Jedi and the Alliance, but it had struck him as more prudent to blame Lumiya and ensure their loyalty to them that way, after all, the Tribe wouldn't follow Vongerella, but Lumiya they might have, best to remove that possibility.

"She does indeed. What are you suggesting?" Cataegis responded, but it was Khai who answered, his aura dark and bloody.

"She manipulated me! Sent me away so she could destroy Kesh!" he snapped, and Vol nodded.

"Indeed she did Khai. You have been used, and failed in your duties. But Lumiya is a master of manipulation and deception. You were not to know." Vol said, glad he had a way out.

Vol went on one knee and looked up at him imploringly.

"My lord, allow me to pursue her! I will crush her for this treachery, the malicious she witch will die by my blade, for the death of my daughter, she will pay!" Khai spat, and Vol smiled.

This could be made to work to his advantage.

""It will be so Gavar Khai. Take those you came with, transfer to one of the Dreadnaughts, and have their crew split between the three ChaseMasters you came on. Take the ship, hunt her down, and kill her." Vol ordered, and Khai bowed.

"It will be so my lord." He said, and considering himself dismissed, he swept past Wyyrlok and Cataegis to carry out his orders.

"Thank you gentlemen." Vol said, and the other two Sith left, leaving the Circle to debate in the room.

XX

"Ignorant savages." Wyyrlok said in amusement and Cataegis smiled.

"They actually fell for it, what does Lord Krayt see in them? They are naive and untested, foolish and easily led." He sneered, and Wyyrlok held up a hand.

"Enough of that Cataegis, else I shall have to teach you respect. Lord Krayt's will is law. He wills it, so it is so." He reminded, and the Vagaari nodded.

"Indeed my lord. But still..." he said, and Wyyrlok smiled.

"They are useful. They will distract the Jedi, while bolstering our ranks, and their naivety means they will be easily converted to our use my friend. Fear not. All will be well." Wyyrlok assured him, and Cataegis laughed.

"Especially because the only one who might be able to put it all together and figure out we did it is now off on a wild goose chase for a dead woman." He scoffed, and Wyyrlok nodded, but he frowned as he did so.

"Use caution Cataegis. Do not underestimate Lumiya. She may still be alive. But if she is..." he said, as he saw Khai entering the turbolift at the end of the corridor, "Gavar Khai there will soon ensure that she is not, and as always, all will play into Lord Krayt's hands." He said smugly.

"As Lord Krayt wills." Cataegis recited, and Wyyrlok smiled, nodding.

"Indeed. Always as Lord Krayt wills." He said.

All was going according to plan.

XX

"He should die for his failure." Sammul Sharsa spat, but Vol shook his head.

"No, he is more useful alive, and pursuing Lumiya. You see, Khai was deceived, but so was Lumiya." He said, and Vantsuri Shia looked at him sceptically.

"How so?" she asked.

"Because Lumiya did not destroy Kesh. Krayt did." Vol explained.

"Impossible!" Yur exclaimed.

"Perfectly possible, and also, the scenario that makes most sense. And Wyyrlok and Cataegis believe that we believe Lumiya did it. Arrogant fools." Vol said in contempt, and he watched as the realisation dawned on the faces of the circle as it finally made sense to them all, seeing the truth as it was meant to be seen, not the way Wyyrlok wanted them to see it.

"They destroyed Kesh, they betrayed us! We must act!" Taalon demanded, but Vol shook his head.

"No my friend, that would be foolish. You see, we are now in a prime position. Wyyrlok believes we are now going to be trying to kill Lumiya. That removes the One Sith as a threat." He explained, and Rhea reclined in her chair.

"We could attack them here." She said boldly, and Sashal scoffed.

"Hardly. Our entire fleet would be lucky to take down the _Sith Dragon_. But I believe Lord Vol has a plan." She said in excitement, and Vol smiled.

"Indeed I do. We carry on with our original plan. However, we also make ourselves available to Krayt, Vongerella and Lumiya." He explained, and Yur looked at him, not comprehending.

"Krayt betrayed us, and you want to work with him?" he demanded, and Vol nodded.

"Indeed. You see, as it stands, we cannot fight Krayt and win. Nor can Lumiya. Nor can Vongerella. But together, we could. We also know the three of them all have their own schemes to try and take over the galaxy, working with all three of them will put us in prime position to benefit from that. So we will keep our secrets, and our silence. We will begin Operation Shieldfall, and infiltrate the galaxy. We will put ourselves in the prime position. And then, when the time is right, we will strike, and Krayt will pay for his destruction of Kesh." He said rousingly, and the others all nodded excitedly.

"All hail Lord Vol." Taalon purred.

"All hail Lord Vol!" the others repeated, and Vol smiled.

"You all have your orders. Carry them out. And through victory, our chains will be broken." Vol said maliciously, and the Circle disbanded, leaving him alone in the stateroom.

Yes, they all had their parts to play. Everyone from apprentices up to Circle members had their parts to play, some more important than others, such as the mission of Saber Taneka Shirru.

But all of that was immaterial. All of it had but one end: the advancement of the Tribe.

Vol smiled. All would be made to work to his design.

Soon now the true Dark Lord of the Sith would be on the throne. And Lumiya, Krayt and Vongerella would no longer be a consideration.

Soon Darish Vol would be the true Dark Lord of the Sith.

And then, the galaxy would belong to him.

**Hello again!**

**So here we are with the latest chapter, and events are getting more treacherous by the minute. Now we have four Sith claiming the throne, and to top it all off, Kesh has been destroyed. Many plots are now afoot, but what is this Operation Shieldfall? (Note that is has a slightly different meaning in this than in the books) Why is Taneka Shirru's mission so important? Just what are the Tribe up to? Are the One Sith wise to underestimate the Tribe, or, as Lumiya says, stupid?  
**

**And that isnt all. The destruction of Kesh has had one rather large legacy: a force bond between Ben and Vestara, forged by their mutual sufgfering, Vestara losing her home, and Ben reliving all of their deaths just as he did when he was a baby. Is the bond a good thing, or a bad thing? And when the others find out, how will they see it? I can think of a certain Sith lord who will be jumping for joy, as her plans begin to accelerate.  
**

**So, next time we are back with the rest of the galaxy, treachery begins to mount, a promotion is to be had, Hapes gets closer to civil war, the Empire makes a move and the Mandies are back, and either this chapter or the next, we will meet yet another bad guy (how many are there?)  
**

**So, until then, hope you enjoy and please read and review!  
**


	15. Episode II: Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

Bimmiel never had been an important planet. However, to anyone happening to pass by nowadays, that would seem far from the case. With Lumiya's fleet expanded by Tavira's ministrations, it was already a considerable fleet that would have been in orbit above the planet, however the bulk of the slaver fleet was still based here despite Nazarn causing problems for Admiral Daala in one of the galactic arms. Also present were the ships that Tavira had 'hired' for Lumiya, but which were clearly part of her own fleet as she clearly intended to betray her mistress when the opportunity arose.

However, for now at least, Wethen was confident that Tavira was going to be little hassle. After returning from the Corporate Sector, she had returned to the repaired _Invidious_ and had been acting as a model officer, whipping that ill mannered brand of renegades she had picked up into a fighting force deserving of the honour of supporting a fully armed and operation ISD. And with Captain Valek returned safely to _Behemoth_, and only leaving the ship once a week so far to check she was behaving, Wethen didn't see any problems with him being with Tavira, provided he remembered where his loyalties lay.

Still, it didn't hurt to have the guns of the _Behemoth _trained on the _Invidious_ should Tavira try anything.

Wethen was standing looking out of the viewport, deep in thought. The hardest part was the waiting. He had served Lumiya loyally these many years, and ever since the collapse of the Imperial Ruling Council after the death of her former apprentice Carnor Jax, Lumiya had promised him that one day the Empire would return to its former glory, the Empire would be restored, the Alliance defeated and the Jedi destroyed. As a result, over these long years, interrupted as they had been by things like the Vong War and the Dark Nest Crisis and the failure of the Corellian Crisis, he had learned the value of patience.

However, now, the plan was truly on the move. The board was set, the pieces were moving, Lumiya's agents across the galaxy were furthering her plans as they came closer to the time that the Empire would return to dominance over the galaxy. Indeed, unless he missed his guess, soon the Empire would show that it was far from dead, in fact, it was about to be reborn.

But, he would still feel better having heard from Lumiya. She hadn't contacted him in days, and while she had assured him the plan ought to be able to continue without her, and while he knew full well that there was probably a very good reason she hadn't contacted them (such as she was trusting them to carry on as always until she needed them) he would prefer to have heard from her before now. After all, he and his crew had pinned all their hopes on the Dark Lady of the Sith, and any glitch now could easily undo their entire plan and flush nearly twenty years of preparation down the drain, and he wasn't intending to let that happen.

"General, priority signal from Lady Lumiya!" the Rodian lad, by the name of Gluumor, called to him and Wethen moved to the back of the bridge to see the holo of his mistress, looking rather grumpy, materialise before him.

"Mistress." Wethen said, bowing and her face softened slightly.

"General, I apologise for the time it took to contact you, I've been dealing with another of that fool Krayt's messes. All goes well I trust?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes ma'am. The _Singularity _is being refitted as we speak. Cronal's troopers are being held under guard, but don't seem determined to cause us any form of trouble. And the prisoners are imprisoned and await your decision on what to do with them." He said, and she frowned thoughtfully.

"I am most interested in these two clones that you found General. You are sure they are a remnant of Grand Admiral Thrawn's efforts to clone Force-sensitives?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes my lady, beyond any doubt. They're still in fairly good health, and even their mental state is fairly substantial." He reported and she nodded.

"The rest of it is just as intriguing. And while I want him dead, I don't want Cronal dead before I've had a chance to find out just what he was up to." She said, and Wethen nodded, knowing her current situation wouldn't exactly allow her to pop home for a visit.

"So what are your orders my lady?" he asked and she smirked beneath her veil.

"Events are moving apace General, and my path will take me to Coruscant. When I am on my way there, I will contact you and you can bring our guests there for me to deal with it. However, until then we have other plans that we must pursue General. First of all, Lieutenant Gluumor if you please." She called, and the Rodian approached, looking up at Lumiya nervously.

"I have it my lady." He said in a shaking voice and she smiled.

"Good. General Wethen, it is with great pleasure that I promote you to the rank of Admiral." She said with a smile and Wethen looked up at her in surprise.

"My lady, thank you, I had no idea..." he said as Gluumor handed him the rank insignia of an admiral and Lumiya smiled.

"You have earned this over your long years of service Admiral. Congratulations." She said, and he bowed to her, while receiving a salute from a relieved looking Gluumor.

"Thank you my lady. So what are my new orders?" he asked, and she grinned.

"My plans proceed apace Admiral, and now they must be accelerated. Events are now on the move that cannot be undone, and now we must set the groundwork for my other plans. My efforts within Hapes and the Remnant are reaching a pivotal time, and I need the Alliance otherwise distracted in case they try to undo my plans." She told him and he looked at her curiously.

"I understand my lady, but what of your plans within the Alliance itself?" he asked curiously and she smiled.

"Fear not admiral, they are also on the move, but we need successes elsewhere before that particular scheme gets us anywhere. Now, I have other problems I need to deal with, new information and new players have come forth and I must adjust my plans accordingly, which means I need to know my forces are doing everything they can while I am out of communication." She said, and he nodded.

"We shall to nothing but the best my lady." He assured her and she nodded.

"I know you will admiral. Continue as you have been doing with regards to reports and information Admiral, funnel anything you think important to me. But other than that, you have a new mission. We have a fleet admiral, however, with the slavers and scum like Tavira present within it, they are not a true unified fleet. If we are to match the best the Alliance has to offer, and also deal with that idiotic fool Krayt and his minions, nothing but the best will suffice and ensuring that is your new goal. We have an Imperial fleet Admiral and I want our newest additions up to the same level as our original fleet, understood?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I'll soon have them whipped into shape my lady, you have my word." He said smugly, and she gave him an indulgent smile.

"I have no doubt that you will Admiral. So, you will whip our new ships and even the slavers as much as possible into an Imperial fighting force. The Alliance's time is ebbing and soon now, and we must be ready to strike when the time is right. Events are on the move, but we are not quite there yet, so until we are, it will be up to you to make sure our fleet can contend with the best they have to offer." She said, and he nodded.

"Which means we will need targets. Has our friend on Coruscant provided us with some?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yes in preparation for his role later on. Target convoys, solitary ships, small task forces, build up our experience, just like Ackbar did during the Vong War. Our fleet may be small, but with your leadership I'm confident it will become as great as any fleet in the height of the Empire, without the usual flaws of having some politically minded dimwit in charge of it. What you do with your victims is up to you, capture them, sell them, destroy them, I leave it to you. Wipe them out, destroy or disable as many as you can, but ensure that they are rendered useless to the Alliance. The goal is to weaken them, spread them thin in preparation for what is to come, and to make sure they cannot stop us later on, and there is no better way to do it than by spreading them out, wearing them thin and tearing them down." She informed him and he nodded.

"I understand my lady. I will deploy the fleet within the hour, and join you on Coruscant when you are able. We won't fail you." He promised her and she nodded.

"I know you won't Admiral. However, stay away from the area closest to the Imperial borders, I have other plans afoot that are bearing fruit even as we speak." She told him and he gave her a sharp salute.

"As you wish my lady, so shall it be."

"Until next time." She said, and her holo flickered out, allowing Gluumor to pin his new rank to his chest.

"Thank you Lieutenant. Signal the fleet, we're moving out. According to the information packet we just received there is a convoy bearing medical supplies to Phaeda, under the escort of a frigate and a couple of corvettes. Perfect easy pickings to get us into the swing of things. Set a course for the rendezvous point. It's time we reminded the Alliance of the realities of war with the Empire." He said as the _Behemoth _surged to life beneath him.

Time to make war once again. And this time, the Alliance would be the losers. He would see to it.

XX

"My queen, you must see the danger that we are in!" Galney urged as Tenel Ka sighed, sitting at the head of a table in the conference room.

So far, the room only contained Tenel Ka, her father, her two cousins, Galney, Zekk, and the overall commander of the Hapan forces after Isolder and the Queen herself, Admiral Espara.

"I am well aware of the danger that we face Ducha Galney. AlGrey has split the Consortium virtually in half, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. And she has already gathered a lot of support to her, and I can't see how she could do all of this without considerable preparation beforehand. She was preparing for this for ages, and we just missed it." Tenel Ka hissed, and Isolder clapped her shoulder gently.

"That may be daughter, but we can't undo what's already been done. So far, all she has done is put out a general call to anyone who is disaffected with your reign to flock to her banner. While her navy and the navies of the supporting nobles are technically meant to support her due to their individual house loyalties, they have still collected rather a large group to them, from various parts of society. People are joining them more and more by the day, and other nobles are becoming very nervous, particularly the ones that are basically the neutral ones, the ones that haven't spoken out in favour of either side yet." He said grimly.

Tenel Ka got to her feet and began to pace. How had everything changed on her so quickly? She'd never been so thoroughly outmanoeuvred by the nobles before, not like this, the most they had ever managed to do was surprise her with some dinner party or something that they wanted her to go to. But this, AlGrey had whipped up a separatist movement right under her very nose, and considering the numbers that left, a lot of them had to have been approached before hand, and she'd been totally clueless as to what they were up to, and now, Hapes was drifting towards civil war and she didn't have a clue what she could do to stop it. Closing her eyes, she imagined Jacen standing behind her, wrapping his arms around her and telling her it was going to be alright. Sighing wistfully, she turned back to the others.

"Alright, AlGrey has just under a third of the nobles supporting her right? Where does that put her militarily Admiral?" she asked Espara, and Espara frowned.

"Provided all of them fully support her, and barring defections or their forces not following her orders, there has to be about two hundred or so Battle Dragons at her disposal, if not three hundred, which as you can imagine is a considerable portion of the fleet. Backed up by support ships and the forces inherent with them, and the way she's been recruiting, she has to command around a sixth of the entire Consortium's military." She said grimly, and Zekk looked at Tenel Ka in confusion.

"Alright, it's bad but I still don't get how you're so worried? After all, she only controls a sixth of it at worst." He said, but Taryn shook her head.

"It doesn't work like that. Because of what she's done, declared herself a separatist movement and general dissatisfaction with our cousin's relationship with the Alliance and the Jedi, the rest of the nobles may very well decide to support her. The nobles all control their own portion of the navy, and something like this which could easily split the entire Consortium means that their allegiances are rather fluid, and they could easily take AlGrey's side. By ourselves, we control the Royal Fleet and the Hapes fleet, their allegiances are set. However, with them we only just outnumber the fleet AlGrey has at the moment, and if this entire thing blows open into a full fledged civil war, then there's no telling how much loyalty we would hold from the other nobles." She explained and Zekk looked at Tenel Ka worriedly, as the queen was pursing her lips nervously.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Although they have broken away, negotiation may be enough to save the situation. Loathe though I am to admit, some of them, most of them due to my grandmother, do have fairly genuine complaints. If nothing else the death of my mother and the Battle of Fondor during the Vong War showed the people that being allies with the Alliance can be potentially dangerous. Also because of Ta'a Chume my people are still fairly sceptical about the Jedi as well. Some of them have legitimate grievances that we ought to hear before we do anything." She said, and Isolder looked at her in surprise.

"I'm surprised at you, I'd have thought you'd be raring for their blood." He said, and she gave him a small smile.

"Fact. I still am. But if I can win over her less than enthusiastic nobles then I ought to do well. The Alliance has been good to us, and I'm not in any mood to burn that bridge, but I won't deny being their ally doesn't have a few downsides. The situation is tense, and I don't want things to be blown out of control or proportion. We need to move softly otherwise we do risk a war." She said worriedly.

And as Taryn had said, if war was declared between the two factions within Hapes, there were no guarantees that she would retain the loyalty of the rest of the nobles. She suppressed a groan. As if she didn't have enough problems being a queen, now she had a kingdom that was splitting right down the middle. And if things did come to a head, she knew full well where they would strike: at Allana.

Tenel Ka frowned. Although she definitely preferred this version of events to the ones Leia had described when they had been here, she couldn't deny the thought of Allana being safely somewhere else was an appealing one. True, she couldn't have sent Allana with her father, not with them going looking for a dark side monster and taking the Dark Lord of the Sith on board the ship, but for Allana to be safe anywhere but here was a good thought at the moment. In fact, her and Allana safely with Jacen was a brilliant thought in and of itself. Shaking her head, she saw Galney looking at her anxiously.

"You might be right your majesty. War may be avoidable, but if not, there are ways to go about this." She advised, and Isolder arced an eyebrow at her.

"Oh yes?" he asked curiously.

"You see my prince, as the queen says, there are many with legitimate complaints. A lot of them want a chance to act, and AlGrey has provided them with that. The thing in our favour however is the same expansionist field of thought that so threw us." She reasoned, and Trista nodded.

"Correct. The claim that we should expand out of Hapes turned as many people against her as it won her, which could give us leeway in which to move." She reasoned, and Tenel Ka nodded.

"She's right. The problem is Vena. With Vena calling for greater Alliance protection, my mother's die hards who fear anyone who isn't a Ducha are worried that it may be the sign of an impending Alliance attack. The desire to expand to take Vena and make it a protectorate of Hapes is going to be seen in two ways, either it'll be seen as a way to fend off the Alliance and increase the power of Hapes, or otherwise it will be seen as a way to invite the Alliance to invade Hapes." Isolder theorised, and Zekk shook his head.

"Hardly, the Alliance hardly has the ships to make postage runs at the moment, never mind invade Hapes, not that the nobles will listen. Can you use that Tenel Ka?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I think so. While a lot of them may agree with her on our relationship with the Alliance, the idea of expansion is far too radical to them, despite how much some of them might want it. The ones scared of the Alliance or the ones wanting to increase Hapan power will side with AlGrey, but the traditionalists, the isolationists and the ones who fear antagonising the GA will hopefully side with us. Which gives us the advantage. Not to mention I do have some nobles I can call on, who I am fairly confident will side with me. In exchange for a few concessions, I could also probably win over a few more. But that still leaves the problem of AlGrey." Tenel Ka said grimly, and Galney looked at her hesitantly.

"Well my queen, as negotiation may still be open to us, we could try to reason with them." She suggested and an idea occurred to Tenel Ka, making her smile grimly.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. I will talk to the nobles I'm most confident in, and to the nobles I suspect will serve me rather than AlGrey should it come down to it. Other nobles however will be adopting a wait and see approach, to see if I try in any way to reduce our links with the Alliance. Perhaps things aren't lost yet. I'll propose a summit between us so we can sit down and talk things out." She said, and Zekk looked at her nervously.

"Is that wise? She could easily make it into a trap." He said, and Isolder shook his head.

"No I doubt it, if she killed her before anything truly happened she'd unify everyone against her. And if she didn't show up, it would also turn people against her as well. She should be safe." He said, though he did look nervous.

"I'll be alright father. You're right, she wouldn't dare do anything now. And also, if we do it right, we can learn the true extent of what we're dealing with." She said smugly, and the others all looked at her in surprise as they saw the satisfied grin on her face.

XX

Collonzas was taking some much needed time off from administering his pirate coalition, as was Veklanna, when his comm abruptly beeped.

"Oh ignore it, we haven't been alone together in ages!" she urged him, and he sighed before kissing her.

"I would love to babe, but if its Krayt's lot or Lumiya and I ignore them they might decide to reduce me in stature, and I don't think I'd be of much use as a boyfriend without a head." He said, flicking the covers over her head and activating the holo.

Only to be met, to his great surprise, by the well dressed and elegant form of Ducha Galney. Collonzas knew full well that Galney was part of another of Lumiya's plans, and on her request he had recruited the resurgent Lorell Raiders into his coalition to keep them out the way so she and Lumiya could lay the groundwork for their Hapan operation, but why would she be calling now?

"Lady Galney?" he asked curtly, and she smiled.

"Greetings Collonzas. I have need of your help, and time is short, so I will ignore the fact that I can see your 'joystick' and get right down to it." She said, and Collonzas moved the covers to preserve his modesty.

"Well get down to it then, I'm a busy man." He said huffily, and she gave him a slight smile.

"Yes, so I can see. Hello you under the covers." She said, and Veklanna hissed as she came out from under them.

"What is it you want Galney?" Collonzas asked irritably.

"I need to borrow the Lorell Raiders temporarily." She told him curtly, and he looked at her in surprise.

"You want me to give you back the same raiders that you asked me to round up and take out of Hapes in the first place? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of getting me involved in the first place?" he asked and she narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, from a certain point of view it would. However, we are on the same side you and I, and serve the same master. She would want you to help me and you know it, she hasn't been planning all these years just for you to have a petulant strop and undo everything." She snapped and Collonzas rolled his eyes.

"By the same token, I also need the Raiders for my own missions, my own plans, which you know full well our master also wants carried out." He snapped, and Galney glowered at him.

"This will further both sets of plans. All I need them to do is attack the Queen Mother, and once they play their part, they can head straight back to you and to whatever mission you wish. So, can I get them back?" she asked, and Collonzas hissed through his teeth.

"Very well, take them, I'll send them to you. But I need them back, if nothing else I need the Nova Cruiser back for Operation Lusankya." He said, and she nodded.

"Don't worry Collonzas, I will have them winging their way back to you within a day. Now, these are the coordinates and the orders, and if they are delayed in any way, the entire scheme will be worse than useless and Lumiya will hear of it. Understood?" she asked bossily, and Collonzas gave her a mock bow before cutting the connection.

"Bossy old crone, who does she think she is?" Veklanna asked irritably, and Collonzas scowled.

"She works for Lumiya, and now she's trying to poach a good two dozen ships from my operation. And I doubt even Lumiya would take our side, Hapes is more important than us, so she can boss us around. But for now we have to put up with it. But, once I become Lumiya's apprentice, she'll get her comeuppance, but for now, we're at the bottom of the food chain love." He said as he sent the orders to the Lorell Raiders before getting back into bed.

Veklanna smirked as she traced her pink finger down his chest.

"Well, maybe it's about time we move ourselves up the food chain." She said seductively, and he nodded.

"It is, but we can't launch Operation Lusankya yet anyway. But, we do have the data from Admiral Wethen actually. And there's a nice Assault Frigate escorting a convoy around here which we could do with adding to our collection, and then we can focus on Lusankya. Don't worry honey, we'll get back at her." He vowed, kissing her, and she kissed back then sighed.

"No offence to you love, but I don't much like these Sith plans." She said petulantly, and Collonzas grinned.

"Just close your eyes and imagine the payoff sweetie. Because it is coming, I promise." He vowed with a roguish grin and she laughed as they were immersed in the covers once again.

XX

The _Night Caller_ was quiet as it hung in the pirate fleet, still under deep cover. Dia was sitting at the controls, Atril was dozing slightly in her chair as Face entered. Resisting the urge to give Atril a fright to make her jump, he beckoned to Dia, but she held up a finger and beckoned him closer.

"Look, the Lorell Raiders are on the move for some reason." She said, pointing, and Face frowned, looking out of the viewport.

"Now, what do you suppose that lot are up to? And Director Kalenda has been looking for them for months, so what are they doing outside of Hapes? For ages they were giving Tenel Ka trouble, and then they vanished out of thin air as soon as she called the Jedi in to have a look. True the Jedi they sent got a fiancé out of it but still..."

The Lorell Raiders were a fairly large part of Collonzas fleet, which was also far larger than it was originally intended to be. Despite what Admiral Niathal had thought would be an easy enough situation to control, Collonzas, with his charisma and ever growing power, had rallied even small forces to him, along with unifying several of the larger groups under his banner. And his recent attacks on Alliance forces had also earned him considerable support, with sympathetic governments and parties interested in the demise of the Alliance now providing him with funding and weapons, meaning his fleet now numbered something in the two hundreds all told, and most of his ships were fairly considerable in terms of size, power and weaponry.

"Something doesn't feel right." Tyria said as she entered the bridge, making Atril shriek in alarm at the unexpected noise.

While Atril tried to regain normal breathing, ignoring the others laughter as she did so, Tyria joined Face and Dia at the viewport, frowning.

"Not feeling right how? Paranoia or Jedi?" Face asked, and Tyria frowned.

"I don't know, maybe a bit of both. But something dark is swirling, but I'm not strong enough to get you anything more than that. All I know is the dark side is strong, and it's getting stronger by the day." She said worriedly, and Dia frowned.

"Look at them, if Collonzas is aiming for bigger and better things just like we think, surely he shouldn't send off one of the biggest and most powerful aspects of his fleet just before he mounts his next big operation?" she asked, pointing.

The Raiders were indeed leaving. Led by the captured Nova cruiser, the _Harravan_, it led quite a significant fleet, made up of batag needle skiffs, several captured Beta cruisers, dozens of starcutters, a few _Express_ class shuttles, and a back up of around fifteen of the new _Stella _class frigates, the theft of which had vexed the Hapan Admiralty enough to actually ask the Alliance to send help. And all of those ships were filled with Miy'til fighters and bombers, and a few of the ships even had some of the more formidable Hetrinar bombers present in them as well. Such a force was nothing to sneeze as it, so it made no sense whatsoever that Collonzas, a clever tactician was sending these ships away when he could easily adapt them to any plan he could think of.

"Hmm, send a report to Director Kalenda, I don't fancy being where those ships end up. Collonzas is up to something, and we need to find out what it is before it's too late. Come on, let's get some sleep, I'm sure they'll call if they need us." Atril said tiredly, yawning as she disappeared.

As Dia and Face made for the door, Face allowing Dia to go first for what Tyria suspected were less than gentlemanly reasons, she looked out of the viewport again, frowning as she did so. The dark side was growing, and it was centring around Collonzas. Something big was coming, even with her strange connection to the Force she could feel it. Frowning, she held herself close and headed back to Kell, her mind troubled.

XX

To Tenel Ka's great surprise, AlGrey had agreed to meet with her to discuss their situation. As such, Tenel Ka, along with Espara, Zekk, Taryn and Trista had moved to her flagship, the _Dragon Queen_, to go to the meeting place and rendezvous with Ducha AlGrey who would be travelling there in her own Battle Dragon the _Kendall_. Agreeing to the rendezvous, they had agreed to meet at Roqoo Depot, using the station itself as the site of their conference.

Before she had left, Tenel Ka had been rallying the nobles she knew would be loyal no matter what should they not be able to resolve things, and along with that she had also been sounding out the support of several other nobles from the other houses. She now had a considerable body of opinion behind her, and with intelligence reports saying that AlGrey's faction was split between the extremists who wanted to expand Hapes and the isolationists who wished to achieve a much more independent arrangement from the Alliance meant that her side currently had the advantage.

But, as the _Dragon Queen_ neared Roqoo, Tenel Ka couldn't help but be overtaken by a sense of foreboding. Something wasn't right, it was like the Force was trying to warn her of something, but wasn't able to do so, like it was somehow blocked. She exchanged a dark look with Zekk, who had Allana standing beside him looking with interest around the bridge (she had never been allowed here before since a trip to a Nova cruiser that gone wrong (she had pressed a button she shouldn't have as Tenel Ka had told her to leave things alone and by so doing had nearly blown a proton missile in the unshielded port of Admiral Niathal's _Ocean_. While Niathal had found the thing highly amusing, Tenel Ka had been less than impressed and had grounded Allana (whose father had been no help, he had just laughed as well to Tenel Ka's bemusement))).

"Something isn't right. You want me to get Allana off on the _Beam Racer_ if things go to hell?" he asked quietly and she nodded.

"Yes. And I suppose you should take Taryn with you, there would be hell to pay if you took Allana and didn't take your fiancé." She said with a grim smile and Zekk grinned.

"My queen, I have taken precautions, I have the _Deserving Gem_, _Dragon Pulse_, and _Jewelled Delight_ all standing by. Not that I don't trust the good Ducha, but I don't trust her." Admiral Espara reported and Tenel Ka smiled.

"I understand Admiral, but this is to be a negotiation. And I'm afraid this could be our last chance to fix things before both sides do something we'll all regret. Soimething is stirring, and the fact that they blindsided me so well with this one means AlGrey, despite appearances, is anything but stupid. We will sit down and talk, and see where that leads us." She said, frowning out of the viewport.

There was something not right, and once again she found herself wishing she had seen Ta'a Chume at her heyday. Yes her grandmother was foul, but say what you like about her she knew how to keep the Cluster in line. While Tenel Ka and her mother before her had brought much more compassion to the Cluster, along with their political acumen, something like this was more Ta'a Chume's field of expertise. She sighed. Even having Leia here would be a relief, or at least someone else to watch her political back. Her physical back was all very well, her cousins and Zekk would look after her and Allana, but she felt there was something going on here that she couldn't see and it worried her. Someone with greater skill in the Force wouldn't go amiss. And if it was Jacen, well, she had to admit, the idea of going back to him at the end of each day was a highly appealing one, and would certainly cheer her up, trying to tell her one of his crappy jokes. Suppressing the urge to snort in amusement at his attempts as she reminisced, she tried some meditation as the ship was coming to the end of its journey.

The _Dragon Queen_ dropped out of lightspeed above Roqoo Depot, and Zekk then joined Tenel Ka in meditation, sensing that something was indeed wrong. A menace was growing, a rising threat to all of them, and considering the nature of their mission, they had to find out what the hell it was and fast. And then Tenel Ka caught a flicker, and turned to Espara desperately.

"Get the shields up now!" she barked as over two dozen ships of varying size dropped out of lightspeed, turbolasers firing at the Battle Dragon, catching the ship with its shields down, causing significant damage in those first few minutes as they pounded the side of her ship, breaches opening to space and venting her loyal crew out into the void as the ships twirled around and came back for another pass.

As alarms blared throughout the bridge, consoles exploding and viewports shattering and necessitating blast shields brought down to stop them being sucked into space, Zekk tackled Allana to the ground, covering her with his body while the entire ship rocked, fires erupting all over the ship as a result of the attack. Admiral Espara then caught Tenel Ka as a heavy blast rocked the Battle Dragon, making the entire ship shudder as the shields finally came to life to protect the ship, and their own blue turbolaser fire began to spread like a web out from the _Dragon Queen_.

"This is an ambush, get all crews to their fighters and keep those ships off of us!" she barked, steadying the queen who was looking frantically for Allana.

"Mommy!" the girl cried, and Tenel Ka used her remaining arm to hug her to her.

"It'll be alright sweetie. Zekk, get Allana out of here! Taryn, you go with her, protect her with your lives!" she ordered and as Zekk hefted Allana to his side as his fiancé led the way from the still fiery bridge, he turned to look at the viewport and his eyes widened.

"Tenel Ka, those ships, they're the Lorell Raiders, they're back!" he said in surprise, and Tenel Ka seethed as she saw what he was looking at.

Now that their sensors, shields and weapons were now all working, and they had a chance to recover from the first treacherous attack, she could indeed see that they were under attack from the Lorell Raiders, the pirate group that had mysteriously vanished months before without a trace, so why the hell were they suddenly reappearing now?

"Where the hell did they come from?" Espara snapped as the wounded were carted off the bridge as the fires were extinguished and the rest of the bridge crew regained control of the ship.

"Majesty, Admiral, we've assessed the damage, hull breaches on multiple levels, propulsion is down, as are tractor beams, shield strength is down by twenty percent, we've lost access to parts of the hangar, multiple wounded and dead, and at least a dozen crew were sucked out with the hull breaches." Their sensors officer reported and Tenel Ka frowned, as the _Harravan_, the Nova Cruiser that doubled as the Lorell Raiders flagship, began to move towards them. While the majority of their fighter forces were out keeping the Raider ships away from the Battle Dragonm, keeping the rest of the pirate fleet at bay, their flagship was descending towards the Battle Dragon, their weapons configuration missing the smaller ship as it exchanged fire, but the blows weren't strong enough to cause damage, they were only sapping the shields in the central column...where the largest airlocks were.

"They're going to board! Trista, guards with me!" Tenel Ka barked, as she ran out of the room, taking her lightsaber from her belt as troops and Trista ran behind her. Sending a warning to Zekk in the Force, she lit her aqua coloured lightsaber, using the Force to open the doors as she headed for the main airlock.

"What the hell is going on, I thought they had vanished, the sure picked a lousy time to reappear." Trista grumbled, activating her vibrospear as they ran through the corridors.

"I don't know, but the timing is all too convenient. Here they come!" Tenel Ka cried in alarm as their elevator arrived just in time to see the _Harravan_ forcibly dock with the _Dragon Queen_.

The airlock then blew open and a horde of pirates, all dressed in various combat suits and armed with knives and blasters of various shapes and sizes flooded into the ship. Tenel Ka gave a war cry, gesturing with her stump and blowing several off their feet before flipping through the air, landing right in front of the leader. She then slashed his head clean from his body, before twirling to deflect blasterfire into his companions as they poured onto the ship. Fire from behind her was blazing everywhere, the royally trained marksmen much better aims and fighters than the pirates, and already the pirate bodies were beginning to pile up. Tenel Ka swung her foot into the groin of one attacker, cleaving another in two and maiming another as the pirates continued to pump blasterfire into the corridor. However Trista had now entered the battle, impaling several foes on her spear as she led the elite guard into the throng, their weapons slicing through the flesh of the pirates like paper. Tenel Ka deflected more shots, forcing the pirates back into the airlock as the guards behind her picked off any she missed, and she was missing very few, her saber was a tapestry of light, swinging in all directions as she cut through more and more of the enemy troops. She jumped all down the corridor, stabbing and hacking, cutting and slicing her way through the pirates attacking her ship, and then the distinctive noise of a gun of command started ringing along the corridor as more heavily armoured pirates joined the battle, firing their heavier weapons, some of them even armed with small rocket launchers. Others wielded sniper rifles, and the bolts from the gun of command were forcing Tenel Ka's forces onto the defensive. It was time she did something about that.

Deflecting the blasterfire as the troops surged up the corridor and using her stump to blast the rockets back to their point of origin, Tenel Ka then threw her lightsaber, taking out the front of the pirate throng, the ones wielding the guns of command. Blasting their bodies back into their fellows with a Force push, she caught the saber in her hand once again, darting into the mass and slicing her way through several more pirates, all of them scrambling over each other to try and escape her wrath.

"Take out the Jedi witch!" someone yelled and Tenel Ka suppressed a cry of alarm as a pirate brought out a heavy repeating blaster rifle, firing away, the bolts bouncing down the corridor. Tenel Ka blocked several shots before flipping back to the end of the airlock corridor.

"Your majesty!" her guards shouted as the pirates, armed with their heavy blasters, sped up the airlock corridor towards her.

Tenel Ka then gave them a cold smile.

"This is my ship, and you've outstayed your welcome." She growled and stuck her saber into the ceiling, before cleaving it around in a wide circle, cutting right through the steel.

"Crazy Jedi bitch!" the pirates yelled as they started rushing back to their own ship, but it was too late, as she had flipped from the corridor, Force pushing the corridor away, and with a clunk the tunnel came loose, vacuum spilling in as the Nova cruiser drifted off from the hull of her ship. She landed deftly in the corridor just as the airlock door slammed shut and she watched as the remaining pirates spilled into space.

"Impressive cousin. Should let you out to play more often." Trista said with a grin.

"I'll admit, it does feel good to vent my frustrations every so often. That'll teach them." She said with savage satisfaction, as a flash from Zekk told her Allana was alright.

"Espara to queen mother, majesty, they are in full retreat. The rest of the task force has arrived, blew up a couple of their ships and your efforts seemed to convince them not to stick around. They're running." The admiral reported over the comm.

Tenel Ka breathed a small sigh of relief, but couldn't keep a satisfied grin off her face as she put back her lightsaber. It had been so long since she had just gone out and fought, it allowed her to vent her frustrations. But now that the fun was over, she did have something else to consider. The reappearance of the Lorell Raiders was worrying to say the least. With AlGrey causing all the trouble she was, the presence of the raiders within the cluster would make both sides all the more jumpy and make a war between them all the more likely, especially if the raiders started their nonsense. And with Zekk's near permanent presence here, her opponents would use their continuing existence of proof of the failures of working with the Alliance. But for now, they were gone, forced off, and now all she had to do was meet with AlGrey. She was just about to turn away from the viewport when the _Deserving Gem_ passed into view, and suddenly something clicked.

"Admiral, get the other ships out of here now!" she barked as she ran to the bridge, Trista following her and looking puzzled.

"My queen, as your admiral, I must say that is an extremely..."

"To blazes with that admiral, get them out of here, now!" she yelled as she scooted onto the bridge.

However, as Espara gave the orders, she was a second too late as the _Kendall_ dropped out of lightspeed to be met with fiery debris and four Battle Dragons rather than one.

"Get me AlGrey now!" Tenel Ka snapped, determined not to let this go the wrong way, but she had an awful feeling it was going to.

"You don't need to majesty, she's calling us."

"Treachery, queen mother? We came here in good faith, to talk. Indeed, you were the one who wanted this meeting, and I agreed to keep the peace, after all my people's minds are set! And this is how you repay my trust in you? With treachery and deceit? You lured me here to assassinate me! You have revealed your true colours queen mother, and Hapes will not tolerate you any longer! The Heritage Council has spoken, we will have our freedom. Open fire!"

"No!" Tenel Ka cried as turbolaser fire lit up the shields.

"The other ships are requesting orders! What do we do admiral?" an officer asked as the _Kendall_, still firing, jumped away to hyperspace and safety.

"Set a course for home. And make the most of it when you get off the ship. I'm afraid this could be the last bit of relaxation we could get for a while. I have a bad feeling about this." Tenel Ka said miserably as the damaged Battle Dragons limped for home.

XX

"Tenel Ka has shown a blatant disregard for our wishes, and now is following in the footsteps of her grandmother by destroying anyone who dares speak out against her! My allies and I are now decided, it is time we take things into our own hands. We will no longer follow her leadership, we will act to save Hapes! We will defend our great nation, and so my loyal Hapan comrades in arms, I implore you, abandon her leadership and join the forces of the Heritage Council, and we will take Hapes into a new and glorious future, one free of the stain of the Alliance and their servitude, and we will once more make Hapes a force to be reckoned with in our galaxy!" AlGrey said as her message played all over the holonet.

The Alliance was going off it's head, Chief Ak'la had already been on the line checking Tenel Ka was alright and promising help if she so desired it. Pellaeon had been much the same. The Jedi had also called, with Master Ramis officially extending Zekk's mission here indefinitely to have a sort of agent on the ground for the Order and also as protection for Allana.

But while the rest of the galaxy reacted to the news that civil war had officially broken out in Hapes, the calamity wasn't nearly as bad as within Hapes itself.

The entire cluster now knew of what had happened. While many planets and nobles knew full well that the raiders had attacked beforehand, necessitating the reinforcements, as AlGrey had won the race home and had quickly spread the tale about the so called assassination attempt, many more planets had rushed to join her, and now the entire sector was divided down the middle. While Tenel Ka controlled most of the interior worlds, she only controlled half of the rim worlds, and just under a half of the rifle worlds. The rest of the cluster was controlled by the newly announced Heritage Council, though due to the nature of Hapan politics, and also due to the fluid situation they now found themselves in, many of the worlds within each part of the cluster were either neutral or their loyalty was tepid at best and they could easily defect to the other side.

And so, the battle lines were being drawn. While Tenel Ka did control the majority, the forces under the command of both sides were still far more equal than they had any business being. And due to the nature of the civil war, Tenel Ka wouldn't even be able to rely on help from outside, which meant for the first time she was truly on her own. AlGrey had rallied a large force to her side, large enough to split the entire cluster in two, and the tensions were already mounting, with protests and attacks taking place all across the cluster. Skirmishes were being fought already, blows exchanged, plots and betrayals already beginning.

And Tenel Ka, isolated from her allies, left to protect her daughter with her cousins and one of her oldest friends and her father, surrounded by enemies, her realm at war with itself, was truly wishing that Jacen was here for her, if nothing else it would make her feel slightly better. Assassins had already been caught, trying to take down either she or Allana, and now once more she and her daughter were constant targets as her enemies and friends lined up to try and take her down, and she had no one to turn to, no one to support her, and she had her loved ones to protect from within and without. Yes, she definitely wished Jacen was here.

And while Tenel Ka feared what was to come, and Isolder, Allana, the Zels and Zekk rallied around her with her loyal nobles in order to defend her, and AlGrey prepared to unleash her war upon the Consortium, the true threat within Hapes, Ducha Galney and her unseen Sith support remained safely in the shadows, using them all as pawns, in order to bring about that which Lumiya desired most: the destruction of the Galactic Alliance and the return of the Empire.

XX

"Wake up!" K'kruhk cried in alarm from the bowels of the ship, and to his surprise, Jacen wasn't the only one cursing the Whiphid as he jolted upright in the bed, covers exposing his bare chest. Alema was also swearing vengeance, promising to right the balance of her beauty or some such nonsense, Ben was groaning, Jaina was cursing under her breath and he even dimly heard his parents arguing with each other about who should get up and Lumiya sympathising with why Vader wanted the Jedi wiped out.

"What the hell is it?" Mara demanded irritably as she emerged into the hold a few minutes later, her red hair looking as though she had been electrocuted, a sleepy looking Leia (who Han had kicked out of bed) standing grumpily beside her.

"We have a problem." K'kruhk said grimly pointing to the holodisplay.

"Couldn't it have waited till morning, which is an appropriate hour for such crises?" Lumiya asked waspishly, apparently giving up with her headdress and just letting it hang like a veil over her face.

"No. Civil war has broken out in Hapes." K'kruhk said worriedly, and that immediately woke Jacen up.

"What?" he demanded, checking the news worriedly.

And then he saw the reports. War in Hapes. A Separatist movement was bad enough, but in a misunderstanding had blown the entire thing all out of proportion and now AlGrey was rallying all of Tenel Ka's enemies around her in an attempt to dislodge her from the throne, pull out of the GA and make Hapes a true galactic power.

Tenel Ka was in danger. Allana was in danger. Two of the people he loved most were now right in the sights of a bunch of militant usurpers who would quite happily kill them.

"War in Hapes?" Leia demanded and then she saw the terrified look Jacen was giving her, and abruptly she realised what that meant.

Her granddaughter and the love of Jacen's life were in deadly danger. War had erupted in Hapes, meaning that the Hapans would be occupied for the foreseeable future. And with one civil war cropping up, particularly in such a high profile location, all the other brush conflicts and civil wars that had been relatively quiet of late would see it as an opportunity and would ignite again, a move which would weaken and exhaust the alliance.

But more than anything else, the very thing that Jacen had turned to the dark side in the other timeline to make sure didn't happen, his loved ones being hurt, could now potentially happen all over again.

"How bad is it?" Luke asked as he entered, seemingly more alert than the others had been when they had first arrived.

"Fairly. According to this information, the Consortium is roughly fifty fifty, which could easily change at a minute's notice, and assassination attempts have already been reported against Tenel Ka." K'kruhk said grimly, wincing at the look of alarm on Jacen's face.

"Mom..." Jacen said nervously and Leia patted his cheek.

"She'll be alright. They all will." She promised him, not wanting to highlight Allana since Lumiya was in eavesdropping distance.

Jaina sent comforting thoughts to her brother, sensing the turmoil, his desire to run off to protect Tenel Ka and his daughter and to get them far from Hapes to make sure they were both safe. His mind was raging with fear and panic, and he wasn't the only one who was nervous. So, unable to do anything else, she sent soothing memories to Jacen, ones were Tenel Ka and Zekk had taken care of themselves perfectly well, which seemed to mollify him slightly. But as the family discussed the situation, she couldn't help but feel a trickle of fear enter her gut. Tenel Ka and Allana were now stuck in Hapes, with a civil war dividing their home, with the fluid nature of the Hapan nobles surrounding them. They were blocked from Alliance and Jedi support, which meant Zekk was the only one who could feasibly protect them. Their allies were just as dangerous as their enemies. And now a war was splitting apart Hapes, the dark side growing around them.

Jacen exchanged a nervous glance with her, his eyes worried and desperate as the twins looked at each other, and while Jaina continued trying to calm him, she wasn't so confident now herself.

And unnoticed by the others, facing away from them while she made coffee, Lumiya smiled. Everything had transpired the way it was meant to, and after these long years of planning, of patience, cunning and plotting, laying the groundwork, it was finally time, and her plan was finally going to come to fruition.

The war had begun.

XX

"You believe this plan of yours can work?" Moff Freyborn asked as he poured Lecersen a glass of Hapan gold wine in his office on Bastion.

"Yes my friend. After all, you've seen how stretched the Alliance is. What with pirates and slavers making a nuisance of themselves on one hand, and the various slave rebellions needing dealt with on the other, Niathal, competent as she is, simply doesn't have the forces to keep an eye on everything. And that isn't all. The Battle of Roche was rather alarming for the Alliance overall, several Alliance ships have disappeared when on their runs, and even now there are reports that the Vong are returning, the Alliance is in a state of flux." Lecersen explained and the older Moff frowned.

"The Alliance isn't the only one being bothered by reports that the Vong are returning. Yaga Minor has spotted Vong ships appearing and observing for a few minutes before pissing off again. Some of our outposts have reported that Vong ships have been seen in the Alliance as far as Obroa-Skai, and our agents report that the Battle of Roche went the way it did because Admiral Limpan's ship had been attacked by the Vong before she had arrived there. If the Vong truly are preparing for another round, is expansions the best course of action?" he asked, sitting back in his chair.

Lecersen smiled. He needed Freyborn on side. While he had the support of Quille, he needed the support of others if his plan was to succeed. While Moffs such as Sarreti and Crowal would stay loyal to Pellaeon whatever the weather, others such as Getelles and Flennic were not quite so stubborn. However, if he was to win their support and approval, first he needed the support of Moff Freyborn, who aside from himself was the leader of the expansionist faction of the Empire. With Freyborn on side, he would be able to win over Getelles and Flennic, and hence gain the support of all five of the sector fleets he was after. And then, even if the other moffs deigned to stop him or if Pellaeon tried to stop him, they would be unable to do so by any means other than a civil war, which none of them wanted.

Not that Pellaeon or the other moffs would be able to do anything to stop him, or should they want to. If he succeeded, the Empire would be expanded for the first time since the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War, and even though Pellaeon wouldn't like that it was them who had done it, even he would be appreciative of more territory for the Empire, not that he would admit it.

That was the beauty of this plan. With the Alliance stretched impossibly thin (soon to be even more so with the Hapans acting up), they didn't have the ships to support their infrastructure, something Lecersen was convinced Pellaeon had noticed. After all, this had happened before with the New Republic, they had been spread thin and military ships had been put into civilian service, a trait which Grand Admiral Thrawn, Pellaeon's mentor, had exploited to deadly effect. What with pirates, slavers, slave rebellions, dozens of new admissions and brewing conflicts whether they be internal or external, and also a lack of Jedi help due to their own internal problems, the Alliance was spread perilously thin, and it was that which he planned to exploit.

"This is the perfect time for expansion. After all, the people aren't quite as stupid as we like to think. They know they are in danger, and they know the Alliance doesn't have the strength to defend them. Many are already looking for, shall we say, an alternative solution other than a token Alliance force floating in orbit, which this far out usually consists of a Nebulon frigate at the very most." Lecersen explained, and Freyborn narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I know many around these sectors are dissatisfied with the Alliance, I've seen the polls. But if they are indeed so opposed to remaining with the Alliance, and after the Alliance's recent track record who can blame them, why not come to us?" he asked, and Lecersen smiled as he sipped his wine.

"The Alliance has major problems. War is coming to the Alliance, but it is a silent war, an undeclared one and its already weakening them. Between that and the Alliance running around amok either granting asylum to freed slaves or admitting newly freed planets, the Alliance is much more occupied on its newest members rather than those on the frontiers, and they don't like it. Other planets are feeling abandoned, something we can take advantage of. And, to answer your question, they won't look to us naturally because we haven't expanded for so many years. They believe us to be nothing more than an outpost for Alliance interests, with no power or will of our own. Basically they don't think were strong enough anymore, and I believe it is time we change that." Lecersen said and Freyborn did look interested.

"It is intriguing I'll admit. But the Alliance will surely react if we take any of their worlds despite the mess they're in." He reasoned, and Lecersen smiled.

"And risk further weakening themselves? The people want a change, one we can provide. All we have to do now is give them the chance, and they will take it. I assure you my friend, very soon they will be lining up to rejoin the Empire, we will provide the alternative that they want and need." He said with conviction and Freyborn smiled.

"You think you can do this? You truly think you can expand the Empire, and the Alliance and Pellaeon will be unable to do a damn thing about it?" he asked, and Lecersen looked hesitant.

"As it stands, no. I already have Quille's support, and the Oricho Sector Fleet and the Carrion Sector Fleet give us a fair bit of military capital, but not enough not to guarantee reprisals." He said leadingly and Freyborn nodded.

"Which is where I come in, I could convince Getelles and Flennic to join you and combined with my fleet you would actually outnumber the number of sector fleets Pellaeon commands, and he would be unable to attack you in any way. And if you succeed, you could easily get system defence fleets onside, and then the only problem you would have from within the Empire itself other than the other moffs would be Pellaeon's command fleet. I see." Freyborn said musingly, sitting and contemplating his fingertips, and Lecersen just sat there, awaiting his decision.

"I like where this is going and I appreciate you're ambition. But I cannot move on something that could go so potentially wrong. Give me a sign, and you will have our full support." Freyborn said, and Lecersen inclined his head, thanked him for his time and left.

So, it was as he had expected. While he had hoped to get Freyborn and the other moffs on side before he had left he was willing to make his move without them. Quille had everything ready, he would keep things occupied here and have the paperwork and everything all ready. All Lecersen had to do was waltz on in to his chosen planet and very soon he would have them eating from his hand.

Smiling in anticipation, he got into his shuttle as it took him back to his Star Destroyer, the _Empire Maker_. It was time for it to live up to its name.

XX

Mygeeto had always been a rich world, and in the last century it had become one of the most contested in the galaxy. A stronghold of not only the Confederacy during the Clone Wars, the planet also had ties to the Sith, most particularly Darth Plagueis. Since the end of the Clone Wars and the death of Jedi Council member Ki Adi Mundi on the planet during Order 66, the popularity of the place had diminished, as had its influence as a result of the rise of the Empire, which due to the Rebellion had lost it during the course of the Galactic Civil War just after Adumar joined the New Republic. Since then it had been part of the Galactic Alliance, and had been happy to be so, even weathering the Vong War under its rule.

However, the affection for the government was beginning to wane. Frightened as they were of the terrible wounds the Vong had inflicted upon their world during the Vong War, they had asked for some form of protection from the Alliance, and usually a Dreadnaught was able to be seen leisurely patrolling the planet's spaceways. However, the attack a few days before on the ships that orbited the planet by the Vong forces had incited the excitable Lurmen into an uproar. With their task force destroyed and the Vong floating around, they were scared, nervous and paranoid. The closest heavy firepower were the aspects of the fleet that were patrolling near Obroa-Skai to ward off the Vong and the pirates, and due to budget cuts, the usual ship that would be orbiting Mygeeto, a Dreadnaught, had been replaced by the task force that had now been destroyed by the Vong. As a result, the Lurmen were terrified, looking for protection to ward off the Vong, and as a result Mygeeto was the perfect site for the first Imperial expansion.

The _Empire Maker _had dropped out of lightspeed, reporting engine failure. Lecersen found it ironic that the very thing they were claiming was wrong actually did happen as soon as they dropped out of lightspeed. However, they had made their destination, and now the Star Destroyer was edging into orbit above Mygeeto.

"Sir, we will be able to be underway within an hour." His captain reported, and Lecersen nodded.

"Sir, a transmission from the planet." His comm officer reported, and Lecersen smiled, this was it.

The small, furry form of a Lurmen shimmered into view and Lecersen inclined his head.

"Greetings Leader Pik Mon, I am Moff Lecersen of the Galactic Empire." He said and the small tufty eared Lurmen nodded at him politely.

"You are most welcome to Mygeeto Moff Lecersen. How long do you think you will be in orbit?" he asked nervously, and Lecersen waved his hand.

"A little over an hour your lordship, engine trouble is flaring up but my crew is fixing it now, believe me, I have no wish to impose on you any further." He said, and the Lurmen shook his head, his stripy tail coiled anxiously.

"Oh no, no imposition, no." He said, his voice small and Lecersen frowned.

"Is everything alright sir?" he asked kindly, and the Lurmen looked at him nervously.

"The Alliance ships in orbit were destroyed by a Vong scouting force a few days ago. It hasn't been seen since, but there are still Vong in the area and we are unprotected. What's more there were definitely pirates allied to Collonzas here a few days ago, my people are afraid." He explained and Lecersen nodded.

"I understand my friend. You are not the only planet that I have heard of the Alliance abandoning to their own devices. It isn't Admiral Niathal's fault, she just has so many problems at the moment that she doesn't have the forces available to meet all the threats out there, so worlds out on the frontier are lacking in defences or attention. And I fear it will only continue, what with all these new admissions as a result of the slave rebellions. The new worlds will be vulnerable and unstable, which means the Alliance will require a presence there to ensure a peaceful transition of power. However, what with Collonzas and Nazarn running around, and the Vong returning..."

"I know, I know!" Pik Mon exclaimed worriedly, his yellow eyes wide and fearful and Lecersen looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry my friend, I didn't mean to alarm you. I would help if I could." He assured him, and Pik Mon looked at him nervously.

"You don't know what its like. Rumours of Vong are rife. Pirates are hitting our shipments. And the Vong have been in this area and have struck once already, and we've heard of their scouting raids in the Remnant. My people are terrified and now our protection is missing and hasn't been heard from, and the Alliance will not hear our pleas, and won't entertain the notion of sending any other ships out here, they won't tell us when we'll get more protection, and my people are frightened. Panic buying is rife, they fear a return of war and destruction, supplies are being hoarded and the memory of the Vong War is terrifying my people. Rumours are spreading that the Alliance are trying to stop the Vong returning, but we're afraid, and who can blame us? The Alliance isn't telling us anything, we're defenceless and we have no way to defend ourselves, and while those on Coruscant may be safe in their towers, Mygeeto isn't nearly so safe. We're not a violent or warlike people, we cannot hold off the pirates if they come, let alone slavers or Vong, and the galaxy is becoming more dangerous by the day, and we can do nothing about it! We need help, and the Alliance cannot, and my people..." Pik Mon ranted madly, but Lecersen held up a hand to calm the excitable, wide eyed fellow.

"If protection is your worry my friend then I could be of assistance." He said, and Pik Mon looked at him, his tail straightening in hesitant excitement.

"How so?" he asked suspiciously and Lecersen smiled.

"Invite back the Empire, and I can promise you a Star Destroyer within your orbit for your protection within the day, and until such a time I would be more than willing to remain in your defence until that time." He said, and he could already tell the small furry Lurmen was tempted.

And that was what had made Mygeeto a prime target for the Empire's first expansion. The Lurmen were not a warlike people, and as a species were also generally unwilling to defend themselves in the face of danger. They relied on the Alliance for protection which, due to the large deposits of nova crystals and more importantly durasteel mines on the planet, they were more than willing to provide in exchange for mining rights, while the Lurmen used their natural resources to even now make themselves one of the wealthiest planets in the galaxy. And if the Alliance wasn't giving them the protection they were meant to receive then they were defenceless against the pirates who would happily raid them for supplies and resources to use or sell, and the Vong could easily attack once again.

"A tempting offer, but you must understand we have contracts to honour, the Alliance..." Pik Mon said, and Lecersen shrugged.

"And why should you care? They aren't holding up their end of the deal, you're meant to have a protective force in orbit in order to deter pirates, and you don't have one at the moment. To me they've already broken your agreement." He said, and the small Lurmen nodded slightly, he did have a point.

"Their contracts could still be honoured, I suppose, they just wouldn't get the best of it now, we could easily rewrite the treaty and export ourselves. We owe them nothing after all, they have abandoned us, we owe them no loyalty anymore. If they cannot support us we will not support them. I must consult with the clan leaders." Pik Mon said, and Lecersen bowed.

"Of course. I shall remain in orbit to act as protection until then." He said, and smiled as the holo flickered out.

Now it was only a matter of time.

XX

Three hours later, Pik Mon called back, much to Lecersen's delight. Upon addressing the council of clan leaders, assuring the Lurmen protection, a decent deal on their exports, along with the full rights and requirements that membership to the Empire provided, along with promising there would be no forced conscription ort heavy taxes or even the presence of anything more than a basic garrison, the clan leaders, all present by holo, they all looked to Pik Mon who shrugged with indifference and then smiled in anticipation as he looked right at Lecersen.

"Moff Lecersen, on behalf of the people of Mygeeto, I formally renounce my planet's membership to the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, and respectfully invite the Galactic Empire to acknowledge Mygeeto as one of their planets." He said firmly and proudly, and Lecersen smiled.

"On behalf of the Galactic Empire, I acknowledge your request Clan Leader Pik Mon. In the name of the Empire, you may once again consider Mygeeto under the mandate of Imperial law and protection, so if you would lower your shields, we can begin. On behalf of the entire Empire, welcome back to Imperial service." Lecersen said with a proud smile, and several Lurmen cheered as Pik Mon bowed and lowered the shields to allow his forces to land.

Lecersen smiled as the cheers behind him from the crew filled his ears. For the first time in decades, the Empire had expanded, and even better, not a shot had been fired, and the Alliance was powerless to do anything about it. Now, the Empire had a new planet, and with it they now controlled their nova crystal and durasteel mining industries, which would be a great benefit in times to come. Lumiya would be most pleased.

Lecersen smiled as the alert that Mygeeto had joined the Empire went out to the galaxy. It had begun and none of them could stop it now. The Empire was on the ascendancy, and very soon, it would be back in its rightful place as the dominant force in the galaxy.

All was going according to plan.

XX

"He's abandoned us!" one of his underlings cried after the hundred and fiftieth failed attempt to contact Cronal.

Belok Rhal was seething. Cronal had been meant to contact them during his attack on Roche, and once he received the transmission Rhal would give the signal for Death Watch to announce its presence to the galaxy at large once again. The problem was the transmission had never come, and as a result Rhal had had to pull his people out of their locations and go back to being Fett's stooge while the momentum built up in Death Watch's promised great offensive petered out and died. His people had begun to lose interest, while they wanted to make Mandalore pay, they knew enough to know that Fett would crush them if they didn't have the support of the Emperor's Hand. And they were currently Handless, Cronal had vanished, his Star Destroyer was missing and no one had seen or heard from him. And now Rhal was stuck with Death Watch, all wanting to act but being unable to, and they were all getting restless.

"Seems like he has yeah, but I still say we should attack anyway. We can take Fett!" one of the more impulsive members in the bunker said, but Rhal shook his head.

"No we can't. He isn't the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, and Mandalore, for nothing you know. Not to mention that because of the hardliner faction after the Clone Wars, most Mandalorians are opposed to us. They totally forget it was us who got rid of that stupid bitch Satine, that we made Mandalore strong again after that whining pacifist somehow managed to take over and brainwash the people. No, they don't remember the good things we've done, all they remember is the bad. Which means that if we attack Fett without backup, the backup Cronal would have provided, the people will unite against us." Rhal said viciously, resisting the urge to kick something in frustration. He had been so close, he had built Death Watch virtually from the scaffolding up, and now he was undone because his blasted ally had vanished.

"Chief, we're picking up a transmission!" the young man operating the comm said excitedly, and Rhal turned to him, eyes narrowed.

"Is it Cronal? He's lucky I don't carve him into pieces with a blunt razor." He growled, and the boy shook his head.

"Doesn't look like it, it's coming from the Stygian Caldera." He said, sounding puzzled, and Rhal frowned.

The Stygian Caldera was the region of space that had once been the headquarters of the Sith Empire. While some worlds, like Jaguada, were well populated and had largely cast off the pall of their evil past, worlds such as Korriban and Ziost were still there and still associated with evil. If Cronal had delayed everything just so he could poke around old tombs, Rhal was going to rip his head off.

"What the hell?" he asked, as an image flickered into view, and Rhal took a step back.

The newcomer was a Trandoshan, well built, his skin darkened by tattoos, and with a lightsaber hanging at his belt. Just by looking at him however, Rhal could tell this guy was no Jedi, this guy was a trained killer.

"Greetings Belok Rhal of the Death Watch." The Trandoshan said, and Rhal looked at him curiously.

"And who the hell are you meant to be?" Rhal demanded angrily, and the Trandoshan gave a tight, predatory smile.

"I am Darth Cyclone." He said, and the room looked to Rhal as one.

Darth only meant one thing, this guy was a Sith. And while Rhal thought that the Sith and Death Watch would get along famously, there was one thing they couldn't escape: the title of Darth did carry a certain negative weight with Mandalrians. Revan, Malak, Maul, Vader, all of them were Sith of some sort who had screwed up the Mandalorians, so what the hell was this guy after?

"Where's Cronal?" Rhal demanded, and Cyclone sneered.

"Your former ally has been taken prisoner by Lady Lumiya, a rogue Sith agent." He said dismissively, but Rhal knew enough about Sith to know that if there was more than one of them in the galaxy at any one time, they were usually engaged in a game of perpetual one-upmanship.

"So, he's dead?" Rhal asked pitilessly, and Cyclone shrugged.

"No idea, doesn't bother me if he is. He is part of the old order, part of the Empire, we are a different breed. As he is now in her clutches though, I assume your plans are currently flailing wildly. I intend to give your floundering ship a rudder shall we say." The Trandoshan said and Rhal snorted derisively.

"My ship is doing just fine thank you. How did you know to contact me?" he asked and the Trandoshan smirked.

"Unlike the Alliance, I am not so blind that I cannot see what is going on under my nose. While I will admit Cronal's return did catch me by surprise, I am not surprised about what his plans were. It's quite obvious now he was behind the attack on Roche, an attack which would make Mandalore seem weak. The Alliance and Empire may not notice what's going on, but with the Battle of Roche I did some investigating, and what should I find but Death Watch, returned to the galaxy, and preparing to make a move for Mandalore once again." The Sith said silkily, and Rhal glared.

"And what's it to you Sith?" he asked belligerently, and Cyclone smiled.

"We have similar aims you and I. You see, I am a military man, and I would like to see the Mandalorians once more returned to their true place in the galaxy, just like you did. Now, I know Cronal was working with you, and was going to provide you with information, troops, materiel and resources. I intend to fulfil the same role, but my resources are much greater than he could have called upon." He assured him, and reluctant though he was to admit it, that did catch Rhal's attention.

Cronal's offer had been decent enough, but he himself had admitted that his gaze and his agents would be directed elsewhere, his military capabilities were meagre as he only had his Star Destroyer to his name, and his credits could easily be tapped by someone else, after all to his knowledge there was still at least one other Emperor's Hand out there, even if she did get paid by the Jedi.

"Really? Such as?" he asked and Cyclone flashed his teeth in a predatory smile.

"You will see in good time my friend. I am transmitting some funds to you in order for you to get started, along with an inventory of what I intend to offer you. I believe that together we can accomplish great things Belok Rhal. Call me when you've made a decision whether you wish to work with me or not." The Trandoshan said before vanishing.

Now, Rhal was not the sort of man to rush into things, despite appearances he was cautious and patient. And he certainly didn't trust this Sith Lord who had appeared out of nowhere.

However, as soon as he saw what Cyclone was offering, he called the Sith back immediately.

It was time for Death Watch to return to the galaxy.

XX

Cyclone smiled as he ended the conversation with Rhal. Mandalorians had always interested him, being a warrior way of life, and the interesting divisions among them in the last century or so had particularly intrigued him. And now, by a pure stroke of luck, due to the actions of a returning Emperor's Hand and a little investigating on his part, he had discovered a simmering pot about to explode all over the place, and had been immediately hooked.

Death Watch would distract the Mandalorians. Civil war would spread, as it had in Hapes, and by the ancient law of sod, other civil wars would start to erupt around the galaxy. The galaxy, the Alliance and the Jedi would be weakened and they would finally be able to strike, and then the Jedi would be wiped out once and for all.

Yes. Lumiya may think she was the overall leader in the Sith plot to take over the galaxy, but she was far from it. And soon she would see just how dangerous the One Sith truly were.

XX

It started innocently enough at first. A town leader, a friend of Fett's was killed, assassinated in the middle of the market of his town. Fett was angry, but they found no sign of any killer and he'd had to let it go. Then, it began to escalate.

Speeches were made, citing the failure of Fett's reign as Mandalore. Cries were put out for Mandalore to exert its strength upon the galaxy. Propaganda portraying Fett as a thug and an old man began to spread. Riots started to creep across Mandalore, protests developed.

And then the bombings started. Tapcafes. Spaceports. And then the beskar works.

And all the while everyone was looking to Fett to solve the entire sodding thing.

"Will someone please find out what the hell all this is about?" He barked to Beviin, and he nodded, turning to the others in an attempt to try and find out some useful information.

"I can tell you what it's about." Rhal's voice echoed across the tapcafe, and Fett turned, as did everyone else in the room, and when they beheld Rhal and his goons, they froze, their drinks forgotten.

While no one had seen that armour in decades, there was no mistaking it.

Death Watch.

"You aruetii..." Mirta hissed as she saw them, everyone present knew full well what this meant, it meant Rhal was behind everything. Boy was she going to rub that in her grandfather's face once they got rid of Rhal, who along with the more boxy looking armour also had a white shoulder cape on his right shoulder in the same manner as Cassus Fett had once had.

"Maybe you were right hoping he was dead somewhere." Beviin growled as he beheld Death Watch, five of them had entered with Rhal, and while the Mandalorians outnumbered them, Death Watch's weapons were a lot heavier than the Mandalorians ones were.

"What's the meaning of this Rhal?" Fett snarled and Rhal mockingly bowed his head to Fett.

"This is the meaning of life Fett, the way of the Mandalorians. Too long has Mandalore languished under the chains of the less than able. No longer, _old friend_. Not all your fault Fett, that crazy pacifist bitch mucked up any chances you lot had of being taken serious. But now, your time is over. Death Watch is back, and we aren't going to be following you anymore." Rhal spat, and Fett looked impassively at Death Watch, surveying them all.

"And to think I trusted you Rhal, must be getting too old for this. You realise the people will never follow you. They don't want Death Watch thugs coming back to Mandalore, they don't want murderers of your sort here." Fett dismissed, but Rhal chuckled darkly.

"Really Fett? Maybe you should look outside. Roche was just the beginning. War is coming to the galaxy, the darkness is rising, and Mandalore needs to be strong else it isn't going to survive. Look at the state of the galaxy, it's hurtling out of control. You can't even control your own planet, what chance do you have against everything else that's about to come?" Rhal queried and Mirta resisted the urge to blast the smug creep where he stood, she would take her cue from Mandalore, no one else, no matter how much she wanted to drill him.

"We can't control Mandalore because you're the one who's been attacking it!" she hissed and Rhal looked at her, and she could tell that beneath his helmet he was looking at her with contempt.

"You were losing control long before we came back onto the scene. The people want a new Mandalore. They need a new Mandalore. Mandalore has been weak and cowardly for too long. Now is the time for fresh blood. And I'm the one who will give it to them. So make this easy on yourself Fett. Stand down now, and this doesn't have to get ugly." Rhal warned, an undercurrent of excitement in his voice, making it more than clear that he actually wanted this to become a fight.

Fett looked stonily at him for a few seconds, saying nothing, the entire room nervously awaiting his response. And then he threw back his head and laughed. A deep, menacing laugh, one that would chill any bounty to the bone, and Rhal and his buddies unconsciously clustered together nervously.

"You come down here, kill Mandalorians, bomb our cities and factories, cause riots and generally make an _osik_ of yourselves, and then you have the gall to come in here and demand that I step down so a brute like you can become the new Mandalore? You might be the leader of Death Watch Rhal, and you might have convinced your thugs that you would make a good Mandalore, but let me tell you one little thing: the _Mando'ade_ will never bow to you Rhal. And I will never just step aside for you. I may not like being Mandalore, it may piss me off endlessly, but I'm going to do it. You might dismiss me as a thug, as a bounty hunter, but I don't really care. Because I will crush you Rhal. For every single one of my _Mando'ade_ you kill, I will crush you a thousand times over. So Rhal, you want a fight, you've got one. I will crush you Rhal, you and your band of brigands, this new Death Watch. And as long as I command here, Death watch will be hunted down like the parasite it is, and eradicated. And so will you." Fett growled, and proving that he was still the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, quickly drew his blaster and fired a shot before Rhal's band had even moved.

However, Rhal was nearly as quick and darted out of the way, the bolt lancing through the head of one of his companions. And so the Second Mandalorian Civil War began, as the man to the right of Rhal fell to the ground with a dull thump, a scorching laser mark in his head.

Blaster bolts were the n being fired across the room, Mirta, Ghes and Beviin taking cover, covering Fett as he fired at Rhal, but the leader of Death Watch was already on the move, jetpack rocketing to life. He and his three remaining followers rocketed into the air, their heavy blasters taking out tables, chairs and two bodies as they belted outside and into the air, rocketing clear into the sky before Fett and the others could stop them.

Grunting, Fett and the others activated their own jetpacks, blasting out of the tapcafe after them. Blaster fire filled the air, lethal laser bolts blazing between the two parties as they battled in the air. While there were now only four Death Watch members, there were only six True Mandalorians chasing them, their weapons virtually useless as they battled in the air, the wind and speed making it all but impossible to strike their targets.

"You're too late Fett! It's already started! You think just my Death Watch want rid of you? No, there are people all over the sector who want you gone. You think we've done everything that's happened the last little while? Don't make me laugh! The people knew we were back, knew well before it even entered your nightmares! It's too late to stop us now Fett, trying to stop Death Watch is like trying to stop the tide! You can't!" Rhal boasted, and beneath his helmet Fett grinned, Rhal was going too high, soon his jets would freeze, he would topple to the earth, bye bye problem. That didn't stop him from trying to shoot the thug though, even though it was difficult even for him.

Beside him Mirta and Ghes were trying to shoot down Rhal's pals, but so far they hadn't had much luck. Ghes suddenly stopped, hovering, and while Beviin and Mirta didn't spare him a second glance, he strained his ears, and abruptly realised why Rhal was risking his jets freezing.

He was waiting for his ride.

"Mirta!" he cried, jetting upwards and clamping hold of her.

As his wife shrieked in surprise at being tackled in such a way, he cut the altitude on his thrusters, dropping several feet. Looking around, he finally saw it, swearing as he did so.

"Ba'buir!" Mirta yelled into the radio, and Fett risked a glance and saw a _Crusader_ class corvette charging towards them.

"_Osik_!" Beviin yelled, cutting his thrusters and allowing himself to fall away before they were caught in the ships slipstream, and Fett followed suit, plummeting to the earth.

Rhal and his allies landed on the extended boarding ramp, giving a mock salute as they did so, and the corvette then shot up into space, taking the leader of Death Watch with it.

Fett finally settled back down to the earth, glaring up at the ship that was disappearing into the atmosphere, its engines mocking him as he stood down on the ground, fuming.

After everything his father and his ilk, the Cuvyal'Dar had done, and despite the defeat of the Shadow Collective, Death Watch was meant to have been destroyed. Forever exterminated, a bitter reminded of the price of disobeying Mandalore. But now the group had returned, under the nose of Fett himself, and at its head was one of his trusted advisers. Mirta had been right: he should have shot him ages ago.

"Ba'buir?" Mirta asked hesitantly.

"Beviin, assemble the clans. Mirta, I know you were right, you can say 'I told you so' later. Ghes, this lot are nasty. Protect my girl, or I break you. Got it?" he growled.

"Yes Mandalore." Ghes responded, holding Mirta close, and Beviin looked nervously at Fett as he silently glowered at the sky.

If Rhal wanted a war, he would give him one.

XX

"The first strike has been made Cyclone. I trust you won't forget what you promised me?" Rhal hissed and Cyclone smiled, his reptilian grin making him look very intimidating in the poor light of the holo feed.

"Do not fear Rhal. I have already sent some ships to you with the first of the supplies you wanted. Ships will also be provided in the fullness of time as will troops if you require them, But, before that, you must do something for me." Cyclone purred, and Rhal scowled beneath his helmet.

He should have known the Sith would renege on their deal. No way people like that would give away something for free even if they did want to see the galaxy burn.

"And just what do you want?" Rhal demanded and Cyclone smiled.

"I was recently entrusted with a mission to kill the Skywalkers and the rogue Sith Lumiya. I'm beginning to suspect that I failed in this mission. I felt nothing and the Jedi Council would definitely have said something if Skywalker was dead which means they are still alive. I have duties here on Korriban which require my attention, and hence no matter how much I would wish to, I cannot track them down. You however, have the forces that can." He said, and Rhal looked thoughtful, it wasn't nearly as bad as a trade off as he thought it would be.

"You want me to send my guys against the strongest Jedi in the galaxy?" he asked, just because it was more reasonable than he had thought it would be didn't mean he was going to rush to accept the mission, after all it was suicide.

"Yes. Ah, you fear your warriors are not up to the task." Cyclone said condescendingly, and Rhal seethed.

"My warriors are more than up to scratch Sith. My problem is you're sending me against the most powerful Force user in the galaxy." He growled, and Cyclone's eyes flashed.

"Lord Krayt is the most powerful Force user in the galaxy." He rebuked harshly, and Rhal made a mental note to ask who the hell Krayt was later.

"If you say so. Either way, you want me to send my men against the guy who took down Vader and the Emperor, and the guy who took down the real Vong overlord and the girl who take down their warmaster? You nuts?" he demanded and Cyclone chuckled.

"No, quite the opposite in fact. I'm not saying you go in and confront them, all guns blazing. Be patient, follow them, weaken them. You are not the only one searching for them, the Tribe is after them as well. Bide your time Rhal, and when it is right, make your move. Can you do this for me?" Cyclone asked, and Rhal pondered.

He didn't relish the idea of confronting the Skywalker clan. They were too powerful to be trifled with, and now they had a rogue Sith with them as well, which would only make killing them all the harder. But, it could be made to work to their advantage. And it wasn't as if he couldn't do without some of his men, he had a lot more than Fett suspected he did. And he had the perfect leader in mind. Rol Vizsla, the descendent of the last two overlords of Death Watch, felt he should be in command by right, a claim that Rhal, who had built Death Watch up alone for months before Vizsla had found him, disputed. Yes, this was the perfect chance to get rid of Vizsla, this would work wonders actually. He could get Vizsla out of the way, put his most loyal supporters with them, and either way he would win: if Vizsla won it would cost him so many of his clan that they wouldn't be able to challenge him (he might even die himself), and if he lost, he would be dead.

"Alright, you're on." He said, and the Sith smiled and his holo flickered out.

"Vizsla, get the _Korda _ready. I've got a job for you." Rhal said, grinning beneath his helmet as he did so.

XX

The first few days had been bizarre. The various civilian ships, tightly packed in between the protective ships of the fleet had been coming and going, delivering what few delegates there were to the small rogue moon that belonged in the system. Once thought to have been a moon of Bakura that had lost its gravity, it had eventually become part of the sun's pull, a little hunk of rock that floated not far from the ecliptic of the sun. Hidden here by the gases of the sun, its heat and its size, they figured they should be safe there.

And now this little hunk of rock was the capital of Bakura, as the Ssi-Ruuk were now in charge of their planet. Malinza shivered as she strolled through the corridors of the _Dominant_. The Carrack cruiser had quickly become the command fleet of what was left of their defences, not that there were really enough to bother calling a fleet. The _Dominant_, _Defender_, _Sentinel_ and _Pride of Selonia _were all that were left of their defensive fleet, the other Bakuran Star destroyers, _Namana _class light cruisers and system patrol craft having been destroyed by the Ssi-Ruuk during the attack. A couple of squadrons worth of fighters had made it away with them, and were now stationed on the little rock below that held the command bunker of the Bakuran Remnant.

Malinza shook her head. Once again the Bakuran people were on the run, once again the Ssi-Ruuk had attacked and had taken everything they loved. And they had taken Vyram from her. Her Vyram, the one good thing she had taken from their last invasion, and this time they had taken him from her. She was going to make them pay.

There were over fifty civilian ships, most of them full to bursting due to the amount of refugees. While, with her bullying, the installation had allowed some people onto the rock below, there were still far too many people trapped up in the civilian ships, all of them trapped floating in orbit around a tiny moon. Their supplies were low, as was their morale, and the amount of losses were still unknown, which preyed on everyone's minds.

It wouldn't be so bad, but they couldn't even do anything about their situation. The initial attack had caught them completely by surprise, forcing them into retreat and into their current position. While the fleet around Bakura had triumphed, it had been relatively small by most terms, it was still more than large enough to end their survival in one swift strike. After a few days however it became apparent why the Ssi-Ruuk weren't deploying their ships to try and find them.

They had been waiting for reinforcements. And whatever the hell they were, they weren't _Shree_ class cruisers or even their picket ships, they were something else entirely. While most of them looked like a skull like cruiser as always, rather than the sweeping form of an elegant skull there was instead a large bulbous area on top of the cruiser. And you didn't need to be a genius to figure out what they were. It had occurred to Commander Essos just what they were a few hours after the first one had taken position outside of Bakura's gravity well. It was an interdictor, and there were dozens of them spread throughout the system. As a result, they were trapped. The sheer number of interdictors, each guarded by two _Shree _class cruisers and three picket ships meant that the remnant could not strike at them, and meant that they were trapped. The entire system was under blockade, the gravity well trapping them all inside the system with no way of getting out.

Malinza shook her head as she headed for the commander's cabin. They were trapped in the system. The interdiction field was so large, now covering virtually the entire system if not more that they couldn't even risk using the hyperwave inertial momentum sustainer that was present on the _Defender _and the _Sentinel_, the gravity well would burn it out long before they managed to even clear the system. Their communications were still down, the interdictors obviously acting as a jamming ship on top of being interdictors. And their last hope, the all clear beacon that goes off every four hours to indicate to the Alliance that all was well, that was still running. They had expected it to be taken out or at least triggered in some way, but the Ssi-Ruuk clearly didn't want anyone to know that the planet had been taken, at least not yet. As a result, the all clear signal was still being broadcast and the Alliance was none the wiser to the peril of Bakura.

Which struck Malinza as rather typical of their situation, but then that was just her. She entered the small command quarters, smiling wearily at the other people in the room.

The admiral of the fleet, Admiral Heinbeck, had been killed in the attack when his Star Destroyer had been destroyed. As a result, the military was now effectively leaderless, with the captains of the four ships all jockeying for power in their tiny little task force. What exactly they were jockeying for (there were only four ships, none of them could hope to match a Ssi-Ruuk cruiser on their own let alone anything bigger in the outside galaxy and they didn't really have any power to get after all they had been defeated) was unknown to her, but the four commanders seemed more than willing to squabble with each other over who ought to be in charge of the situation.

Along with her, two other senators had made it out. One of them was an old friend and ally of hers, Senator Jarvix Killean. Joining the senate a few years before she had, he had just been coming back from a business trip when the attack had happened. Taking as many people into his ship as he could, he had quickly made for space. The others in the room however were not quite so friendly. The remaining senator was called Werenda Tyrell. She had opposed Malinza ever since she had come onto the scene and was determined to make a nuisance of herself in everything Malinza wanted to do, and she was also determined to stop her becoming the prime minister in the election campaign, well at least she had until the campaign had been brought to a halt by alien invasion.

The other two in the room were members of the cabinet who had been up in the defence fleet during the time of the attack. Finance minister Arton Climber and Defence minister Ugio Strassera had been touring the fleet when the attack had occurred, and had just landed on the _Pride of Selonia_ when the fleet had escaped. Quickly moving into the bunker they had declared a government in exile, state of emergency and anything else they could think of, and upon finding the others, they had reluctantly agreed to include the senators at Commander Essos' request. And now it was the six of them in charge of a broken group of refugees, with enough military capability between them to give a Star Destroyer a broken nail, their planet conquered, their people imprisoned and their families lost or ripped apart.

"Nice of you to join us." Tyrell sneered and Malinza glowered at her.

"I was on one of the civilian ships, trying to stop the spread of sickness, not that you would know about other people, as you didn't even try to evacuate anyone when the attack began." Malinza snapped and Tyrell avoided the accusatory glances of the others in their little council.

"Enough. We need to decide what we are going to do." Essos said, the small man with the balding head and little moustache at the end of the table, looking as if he'd aged a decade in the space of a week.

"The entire system is blockaded and interdicted, with no communications getting in or out. And the Fluties have been clever, they've put out a warning so no trade ships can land, they say there's been an industrial accident that's preventing them from landing, so we can't even rely on trade ships to get word to the outside galaxy." Killean said grimly.

"I say we should send a fighter to the edge, the fastest ship we've got. They break free and jump away." Climber, a well built wealthy man with ahead of thick black hair stated, but Essos shook his head.

"Any such launch would tell them where we are. For now they seem unaware of us being here, but there's plenty of other places we could be hiding that they need to check first. Along with that they need to subjugate the planet rather than focus on us, they know we're trapped here so they know we'll keep. We need to use the sun as a shield if we launch a mission, and launching a fighter would involve going a significant distance past the sun which could alert them. Besides we don't have enough hyperdrive equipped fighters, we don't even have a full squadron of them." Essos said, and Malinza frowned.

"Alright. We can't get out, we're trapped in our own system, and we can't tell anyone that we're trapped. Even if a trader ignores the warnings, they'll be pulled out by the gravity field and destroyed and the same goes for the Alliance. Told you they're useless. Can we fight?" she asked and Strassera snorted in derision.

"With a grand total of four cruisers and three fighter squadrons? You must be joking." He dismissed, but Essos instead held up a hand.

"Fighting is an option, but it will have to be guerrilla warfare, we can't afford to waste anything or anyone." He said, and Killean nodded.

"Agreed commander. And we also need an overall commander of the fleet, such as it is. That ought to be you commander." He said, and Malinza nodded.

"Agreed. Admiral Essos." She said with a slight smile and the man blushed but to his surprise the others present all added nods of agreement.

"Thank you." He said humbly, and Tyrell looked thoughtful.

"We've had reports from the scouts. Most of the people are in camps, the others are mostly dead. Some of them however are fighting. We need to help them in any way possible." She said, to general nods.

"Ever since we dug in on the moon below, we were storing supplies there. We have three caches of weapons and materiel to supply them, but getting to the planet to get the supplies to them is going to be a nightmare." Climber said grimly, and the others agreed on that much at least.

"But the people on the surface need those supplies. We know they aren't the kindest of hosts." Killean said darkly, scowling at the thought of the Ssi-Ruuk ruling their planet.

"And that isn't our only problem either. The people in the fleet need our help too, need rations, medical help, there's only so much we can do in our situation." Malinza said worriedly, to general reluctant nods.

"Our first priority is to get supplies to the surface. Admiral Essos, can you manage it?" Climber asked, and the admiral nodded.

"I believe so. I will do what I can." He said stoutly, and the others nodded.

"Good luck admiral. We will return to the command post." Climber said, and Strassera and Tyrell nodded.

"And I will attend to the people." Killean said, while Malinza turned to Essos.

"And I'll go with you if you'll have me admiral." She said and he nodded as the others all stood.

"Well then, let's see how we're going to pull this off." Essos said as the others filed out of the room, leaving he and Malinza to plan their attack.

XX

The entire system was now under blockade, and they had more than enough forces to defend the planet against the attacks of any rebels who remained. Which meant that Ivpikkis was rather pleased with his day's work. Bakura had fallen with ease, the remaining rebels weren't powerful enough to pose a serious threat and the rebels on the surface would soon be tracked down and enteched. The Ssi-Ruuk would rise again, and he was the one who was leading them. For now, all he had to do was wait.

The fleet was marshalling just off Lwhekk. Ever since he had taken command of the entire Imperium he had been marshalling his forces for just such a conflict. And Bakura, the world that had seen his defeat so many years before was the prime target for another attempt. He had been the one to rebuild the state after the failure of the Keeramak. Slaughtering all within his path, his dictat had assumed control of the entire government, making him the undisputed leader of the military and the Imperium. Ever since then he had been rebuilding the Imperium, waiting for the opportunity to attack once more.

The bluescales had been all but wiped out, if not enteched or forced into hiding. Others had been enslaved to help build his war machine. The goldscales were not treated quite so harshly. Some had supported him, calling him the Chosen One and other such titles, and he knew he had to keep them on side so he had spared a few of them aside from the ones who had already been part of the establishment. Others he had had discreetly killed or enslaved to sustain his ever growing war machine. The yellowscales had been relatively unharmed by his coup. While the ones most loyal to the previous regime had been murdered, and sympathisers pressed into service like workers, the rest had been allowed to retain their usual positions, advancing the cause of the Ssi-Ruu. All but a few dozen redscales had escaped the purge, most of them supporting Ivpikkis during his coup and all of them heartily approving of his plans to once more bring war to the wider galaxy. The greens, being the worker caste, has been largely ignored and none had said anything about anything, so Ivpikkis assumed that meant they didn't care who ran the show provided they could go about their normal lives in peace, which he was happy enough to let them do. The blackscales, having been so instrumental to Ivpikkis' uprising had become much more prominent in society, with many aspiring to be just like those deadly assassins.

However, he had been a lot more merciless with the brownscales and the P'w'eck. Blaming them for the state of Ssi-Ruuk society, he had unleashed a devastating attack against these two menial groups, citing the actions of the Keeramak and their rebellion as justification. The populace had been only too happy to comply, and it was said that the brownscales had been all but exterminated on Lwhekk itself, and the P'w'eck weren't much better off. He knew some of them had escaped with the few survivors of the rest of the purge, taking refuge deep in the forests with on the run bluescales or goldscales but over three million of them had been killed on the capital alone, and five times that number across the Imperium. True it gave a lot more work to the greenscales but they didn't seem to mind that much. He had continued his vendetta against the underlings that had nearly destroyed his species, killing them wherever he could find. He had been delighted to discover a large colony of them on Bakura when he conquered the planet, over ten thousand of them and had gleefully wasted no time in bombarding them from the face of the galaxy.

And now, Bakura was his. The first strike in his war had been made. The Bakuran people had been largely rounded up into camps. Some had fled, a couple of thousand or so, but his men on the ground told him that they wouldn't long be a consideration. The others were all waiting entechment or death, it all depended on the mood of the commander of the camp. The few who had escaped wouldn't be much of a consideration, they lacked the power to challenge him effectively.

And now the rest of his fleet was prepared. The hundreds of interdictors he had been building all these years, based on stolen Chiss technology, would serve to block the systems he attacked from alerting the powers that be to his actions. While he believed what Vongerella said about the Alliance being otherwise occupied, he seriously doubted that they would just ignore a renewed Ssi-Ruuk invasion, in fact they would retaliate most violently, which would end all of his plans. But with his interdictors, which doubled as jamming ships, keeping Bakura from alerting anyone to what had happened to it, other than the automatic all clear transmissions that were sent to the Alliance which was guarded by an entire legion of troops, the entire system was completely cut off, with no one being any the wiser as to what had happened. His forces dealt with any trade ships or pirate ships that entered the system, destroying the ships and enteching the crew. Nothing could be allowed to reach the ears of the outside galaxy, be it Alliance, Empire, or even the Vong.

For her did not trust Vongerella. She was a Sith, which according to certain captured individuals meant they were treacherous anyway, and she was a Vong, which also implied treachery considering the whole Keeramak mess, and he just had a bad feeling about her. And besides, he didn't want her knowing the rest of his plans.

Bakura had only been the first step.

There were six other inhabited planets within the sector, and they were also going to be his targets. Like Bakura, most of them possessed a strong military in order to repel invasions, but since the Bakura Truce they all expected Bakura to act as a lookout. They were also small, many of them recently settled.

Timora was the most enduring of the planets in the sector, it had avoided the first Ssi-Ruuk invasion and had also been spared the Vong invasion. As a result it was one of the richer and more established planets, with a sizeable task force for protection.

Kammia, a world that had been taken during the first invasion, was merely a moderate farming world. Since the last defeat, it had been recolonised, only being captured by the Vong rather than sustaining any form of heavy damage. One of the smallest worlds with a population barely amassing to half a million, it had a tiny task force which would provide easy sport for his fleet.

Gymelo was the next world in the sector. A rich resort world, it hadn't been taken during the first invasion for fear word would get back to the Empire due to the higher class nobles who frequented the place. This time there were no such inhibitions. Since the Vong war had devastated a lot of the planet's natural beauty, few outsiders visited the world anymore, and those that did would be easily taken care of. However it was not a totally useless colony, there were over a million people on the world, all waiting to be enteched.

Cattamascar would be the most dangerous world to take. Other than Bakura, it was the most militant of the worlds in the sector, and it had put up an incredible fight during the first invasion. Though Ivpikkis had eventually won through, it had been a very close call. They had the most powerful fleet other than Bakura, their protection led by an old Assault frigate mark II that could pose a fairly large threat to his forces. It was also the world that could potentially alert the Alliance as it was the secondary beacon, and he couldn't allow them to get word out to the Alliance.

G'rho had been conquered early on in the first campaign, but since their defeat it had been colonised once more due to crimson ore that was on the planet. Becoming a fairly industrialised planet, an attack could lead to repercussions as the shipments of crimson ore came to a stop, but he was confident he would find a way around that. Their defences were mainly concerned with keeping their ore from pirates so shouldn't pose too much trouble.

The final planet in the system was B'Knos. While not really a planet, since it was an asteroid colony, it was much the same as G'rho only smaller and with less people. Their defences were also more focused on trade than war, there were few people in the colony and it was relatively unimportant even to the sector. Its people were also fairly isolationist, due to the place only being settled not long after the Vong war, there were still two thousand or so people there.

And all of them, every person within this sector, would soon be enteched. The entire population of a system would give him millions of swarm droids, thousands of fighters, and also give him hundreds of picket ships, a multitude of shuttles, dozens of light cruisers and also support a new wave of battlecruisers (as they were only manned by Ssi-Ruuk since the Reformation, other ships were mostly automated now with only an organic command crew decided by caste on which class of ship they got). And with the entechment of those people and the exponential increase of his own forces as a result, his ships would then multiplied a hundredfold if not more, and he would be able to continue his attack on the galaxy, increasing his forces as he went. First, Bakura and the surrounding planets. Then Rattatak and its surroundings. And then the galaxy.

Ivpikkis smiled. By the time the Alliance realised what was going on, he would have at least three sectors, billions of swarm droids, millions of fighters and assault ships, and thousands of picket ships, light cruisers and battlecruisers. Then there would be no stopping him.

XX

The plan was elegant yet simple. Using the Bakura unique HIMS system that allowed them to travel through lightspeed for short distances despite the gravity field, the _Dominant_ would perform a series of microjumps towards Bakura, coming out just shy of Bakura. Hopefully that would draw the Ssi-Ruuk ships off and from there, the ship would make a final jump and descend to the planet, drop their supplies and be on their way again before the Ssi-Ruuk could stop them.

And the plan had worked, at least until they reached the edge of Bakura itself, and that had been when the entire thing had gone straight to hell.

While the plan had worked and had drawn all but one of the _Shree_ class cruisers in orbit away from the planet, unfortunately the vast majority of the swarm droids, the creepy droids that were piloted by the mindless souls of their victims, were still there and were even now bearing down on the Carrack cruiser, their weapons firing. For now their shots were passing harmlessly against the shields, but that wouldn't last much longer as the droids were getting ever closer, and the ships that they had drawn off would soon be on their way back to defend their stolen capital. But for now, it was the _Xikree_, the flagship of Admiral Ivpikkis that they had to deal with as the red skinned leader of the invasion was out for blood, and wanted their cruiser destroyed.

The _Dominant _rocked as its weapons put up a blistering field of fire, their own guns outpacing those of the droids, allowing them to blast several from the air with impunity, however it was merely a plaster on a gushing wound as there were still many more present to take their place. The Carrack cruiser powered forward nonetheless, battling on stubbornly.

Malinza winced as another console exploded behind her chair, the one to the right of Admiral Essos, who was swearing fluently in Wookiee, which was a remarkable feat to be sure. The cruiser moved onwards, still firing but it was clear that unless something changed soon, the ship would be lost here.

"Sir, we can try to escape!" one of the pilots said as the ship rocked as the first of the _Xikree_'s turbolaser blasts pounded against it.

"The people on the ground need the supplies lieutenant. Actually, can we perform a hyperspace jump?" Essos asked curiously and the pilot nodded.

"Yes sir, that's why I suggested escape." He pointed out, and Essos looked at his readout, and Malinza got the impression that he was doing some very quick thinking.

"Calculate a jump, just a hundred or so metres from our current position." He ordered, and Malinza looked at him in alarm.

"Are you mad? If we go to lightspeed now all those fighters will slam right into us, we'll be annihilated! And even if we somehow survive that, we'll be right under the guns of the _Xikree_, and you know as well as I do that Ivpikkis won't hesitate to slaughter us!" she hissed beneath her breath but all Essos did in response was give a grim smile.

The pilot looked nervously at the admiral but did as instructed, the swarm droids were just beginning to enter weapons range, and the _Xikree _wasn't far behind them, its guns already pounding at the forward shields. The _Dominant _shook once again, and with a flash the ship catapulted forward.

Time slowed within the ship. As it jumped there were shuddering impacts as the swam droids that had been in the way crashed into the unstoppable object, shattering them completely. The ship jerked and rolled, alarms blaring in the split second, fires erupting across the prow of the ship, cracks appearing in the viewscreen as the ship blazed forward.

And the jump ended a split second later, the ship erupting from hyperspace, fires dotting the front of the ship, streaming back like ribbons. Cracks had appeared in the hull and the viewport, alarms were blaring throughout the bridge, the entire ship rocking with the impacts of the swarm droids they had simply plunged right through.

"Report!" Essos barked as the repair crews tried to regain some semblance of order.

"Severe damage to the prow of the ship, but no loss of systems. Forward shields down to ten percent, they can't take another hit, much less one like that. Aft shields at full strength, but there are hull breaches on multiple decks, forward ion cannons and turbolasers out of power but repair crews are working on them, and we lost one of our tractor beams." The pilot reported, checking his readouts, and Malinza looked at Essos in disbelief. His plan had actually worked, and the _Dominant_, although bloodied, was still standing.

"How did you do that?" she asked incredulously and he smiled.

"Simple physics child. We were the unstoppable force, at that close range no matter how many there were provided we had our shields up at the front they would be flattened against us." He explained, and Malinza sagged in relief as she checked the readouts.

By the look of things they had taken out a good chunk of the swarm droids, round about a third, which was brilliant. Their little jump also meant that the ships that had chased them initially were far behind them, out of sight and mind. The _Xikree _however was not quite so out of the battle. Ivpikkis was most likely furious and his cruiser was already turning to bring them into range, their long range turbolasers skimming their engines as the ship accelerated towards Bakura. The other cruiser was out for blood however, and Ivpikkis was sacrificing his fighter support in order to catch up with the _Dominant_, as the droids were still milling around in confusion due to their sudden heavy losses.

"All power to aft shields and engines, take us down!" Essos yelled and the pilot grinned.

"Yes sir!" he responded cheerfully and gunned the engines.

The _Dominant_, now virtually free of foes, blazed towards the atmosphere of Bakura, the fighters far behind. The prow was still aflame but as they streaked towards the planet the flames were beginning to die, and all they had to do now was deal with the _Xikree_ and deposit the supplies.

"Open fire!" Essos ordered, and he was sure the exact same order had been given on the _Xikree _as the space between the two cruisers was suddenly filled with turbolaser fire and the ion trail of the _Dominant _as the Carrack bolted for ground.

"Spin the ship." Malinza said as the _Dominant _punched into the atmosphere, the _Xikree _close behind, lasers still flashing between the two, the ship rocking with each impact.

Essos looked at her as if to question her, and then smiled, seeing the wisdom of her decision and gave the order. The _Dominant _plunged towards the ground, the hull screeching as it dropped like a missile towards the planet, the turbolasers from its rear forming a vortex as it fell. The _Xikree, _its ungainly shape slowing it down, was falling back, the corkscrew of turbolaser fire splattering against its shields and slowing its descent.

"Sir, we're coming up on the ground!"

"Prepare to jettison supplies, and then get us out of here lieutenant." Essos ordered, and Malinza bit her lip.

The people on the ground, her people, needed these supplies if they were to survive the coming battles with the Ssi-Ruuk. From what little intelligence they had been able to gather the people had been rounded up and forced into camps, some dealing with the slaughtered P'w'eck camp and others being forcibly enteched despite their protestations. There was resistance though, and those brave fighters needed these supplies if they were to continue. Malinza closed her eyes, remembering the last time they had been invaded, Vyram had been with her then, and now he was gone. Forcing down the wave of angry grief, she opened her eyes to see the pilot, grimacing as he did so, force down on the throttle and pull the ship out of the dive, levelling it and taking the ship flying across the plains outside Salis'Daar. The capital had been bombed in the attack, many spires were still smouldering, many buildings had been levelled. The people who had died in the actual attack still lay where they had fell, their bodies undoubtedly providing a tasty meal for the Ssi-Ruuk who would be patrolling the city. Blood, smoke and ash polluted the city, rubble covered it and bodies marked it, but as the ship blazed over the city, the _Xikree _beginning to descend from on high, the scanners located a battle going on, and Malinza smiled, the people hadn't given up yet, and after they dropped their package, they wouldn't.

"Fire!" Essos ordered, and a turbolaser blast rang out, blasting right into the centre of the milling throng of Ssi-Ruuk. The holo came on line, showing the rebels, now aided by surviving P'w'eck, cheering as the ship streaked overhead, a large cargo compartment dropping to the ground as they did so, its descent slowed by repulsors. Confident that the rebels, hovertrucks at the ready, would now be alright, Essos nodded to the pilot.

"Get us out of here, back the way we came. We need to keep the _Xikree _off the rebels until they get everything we gave them." He said, and the ship performed a tight spin, suddenly flying back the way it came, turbolasers pounding as it did so.

The _Dominant_ shot over the top of the _Xikree_, punishing the cruiser with an unexpected barrage that sent the ship sliding off course. Cheers erupted in the bridge and Malinza grinned as the _Xikree_, its prow aflame just as theirs had been, started to fall from the sky.

"Set a course for home. We've not won the war, or even the battle, but we've proved we can hurt them, so let's leave them with a bitter taste in their mouth." Essos ordered and with that the pilot took them to space, the swarm droids coming towards them, but by the time they closed in on them, the _Dominant_ had made its first jump and was now safely out of danger.

XX

Ivpikkis was furious. Not only had the _Dominant_ destroyed over two hundred swarm droids with their insane jump, they had gotten to the planet, slaughtered a group of his troopers and resupplied the resistance with better weapons meaning their police action was going to take a whole lot longer than it ought to do in order to crush the rebels. And his own ship, the shields stripped away by the corkscrew manoeuvre they had performed and the sharp descent into atmosphere, had sustained significant damage in their surprise attack on their way out of the planet, and had his crews not been the best the Imperium had to offer the ship would have ploughed into the ground. Understandably, he had already been furious and finding out that the droids and the other ships had failed to stop the ship escaping had further aggravated his mood.

But the Bakurans who had dared challenge him had made a foolish error. In his hands he held the lives of every single city on Bakura, and the lives of everyone in the sector. And this paltry resistance that dared spit on him like this had earned his ire. He would make them pay for their impudence.

"Signal the fleet. Begin the assault." He snarled as the _Xikree _limped back into orbit.

The entire sector would suffer for this outrage. But that wouldn't goad the rebels as much, no, not nearly as much as attacking their own people.

"And contact the administrator of camp beta four. It's been a while since his troops ate. Tell him its dinner time." He hissed and the crewer sent him a nervous but envious look.

After all, those in the fleet wouldn't get to eat any of the human captives. But he supposed the army had to be kept big and strong.

And as such he relayed the orders, grinning as he thought of the screams of horror and the river of bloods that would soon stand where camp beta four was.

XX

The restaurant was busy and popular, ignoring the chaos that was beginning to grip the galaxy, and its patrons were similarly uninterested in wider affairs. Actors, artists, singers and other such luminaries all populated the stylish Ithorian restaurant, enjoying the food and ignoring their responsibilities.

All aside from those in the back room.

There were nine of them in all, all sat around a table looking grim. They could no longer deny the truth, the leader of Black Sun, the criminal syndicate, was dying. It now fell upon those in the room, the nine vigos to decide on his successor.

The nine of them, the most loyal lieutenants appointed by the underlord of Black Sun were the ones who now had to choose the fate of the organisation. Their leader, Y'ull Acib, was dying. Acib had briefly lost control of Black Sun twice, once to Durga the Hutt and the other to Czethros, however both of them had overreached themselves and Acib had always returned. He had been slowly and quietly building up the organisation again, the mess left by the death of Xizor still requiring dealing with, and combined with the damage the Galactic Civil War and the Vong War did to it, it was a miracle Black Sun was running at all. However, in recent times Acib's mind had started going, his grip weakening. Despite his protestations that he would soon have a way to live forever, and that he would soon be fit and young once again, it was now quite obvious to all the vigos he was dying, and his ranting was becoming more and more desperate each day.

There were nine of them in the room, a Toydarian, a Harch, a Karkarodon, a Theelin, a Koorivar, a Zanzibar, a Shistaven, a Gand and a Muun. And all of them were looking to the only female in the group, the Zanzibar, to take over Black Sun. Her name was Xxaytixo, her tall thin head and sharp teeth dominating the room and its occupants.

"Acib's time is over, we need direction now. The power of the Hutts is diminishing, especially now with the slaves rebelling across the galaxy. The slavers are retreating into their own worlds or out into the arms, and the pirates are occupied with Niathal's attempts to crush them. The Alliance is occupied, the Jedi are going nuts and have their own problems, we need to act to take advantage of this situation, not dither about while Acib wastes away because we can't choose a new leader." The Harch said in his thick voice.

"That isn't all. Reports are coming in of corruption, some of our agents are selling us out, some are abandoning us, going their own way." The Gand said in distaste, to various nods.

"And someone is finding a way to run a racketeering operation through our books. The new underlord needs to be chosen now!" the Koorivar said angrily, and they all nodded.

"Well, are we agreed? Xxaytixo will be our new leader?" the Karkarodon asked to the room at large, and as one they agreed.

"Strange." The new underlord commented.

"Strange how?" the Toydarian asked nervously and the cannibalistic woman turned to him, grinning and showing her pointed teeth.

"No arguments. Me new undisputed leader. Why?" she asked suspiciously.

The other vigos looked nervously at each other, not wanting to meet her gaze and she snarled, and was deciding who to take a bite out of when the Theelin spoke up.

"Someone has been assassinating our lieutenants, we're afraid we may be next. We're hoping you can attract their attention." He admitted, and though the other vigos looked at him un fury, the Zanzibar pulled back her head and laughed, shaking, dry, guttural sound that chilled them all to the bone.

"You fear assassins? Assassins fear me. Not worry. Xxaytixo assassinate assassins. You see. Now come. We have Black Sun to run." She ordered, and with that the vigos swept out after the new underlord.

And, from the back of the room, where they had been allowed by the owner who recognised that things were changing now that Acib was dying, a secret door slid open to reveal two beings. The first was a human man, dressed in a leather and fur jacket. His hair was white, now a brighter shade than what it had once been due to age. A scar marked his face and his cold grey eyes were narrowed in delighted malice. He walked with a stylish cane and a large double barrelled blasted was as his waist.

The other was a large bard man, covered in feathers. His eyes were cold and ruthless, he was dressed simply. His beak was strong and sharp, and on his arms were two deadly blades.

"Well what do you think Urai? Can you take them all?" Tyber Zann asked, grinning slightly as he sat down at the head of the vigos table, casually placing his cane on the table, the cane only for effect as he didn't really need it.

He was Tyber Zann, the leader of the Zann Consortium. Since robbing the Emperor's private vaults and hijacking the _Eclipse _not long after the Battle of Endor, since then he had faded into the background, living off the wealth he had stolen from the Emperor. His nightsister, Silri, had vanished years before, and he now assumed her to be long dead. He had stolen billions from the Empire, along with art, technical data, a few holocrons the Emperor had stowed away for a rainy day and all other manner of priceless artefacts. Aided by his ill gotten goods, Zann had taken his fleet and had made a break for it, fleeing the soon to be imminent retribution of the Empire and of the Rebellion. He had found himself a nice tropical system in the far reaches of the galaxy, allowed his people to settle on the planet, and there they had stayed out of galactic affairs, living off their wealth while watching the Rebellion, the Empire, the Vong and the Alliance exhaust themselves. Until now that is. Upon learning that the leader of Black Sun was dying, Zann had decided to make his long awaited move. He had sworn vengeance on Xizor all those long years ago, and while he had been denied the considerable pleasure of killing the sleazebag by Darth Vader, he had remained determined to exact his retribution on his organisation. However, when he had actually thought about it, another thought had donned on him. He had always intended the Consortium to become a major criminal player, something he had been blocked from doing by either Black Sun, Jabba or general disinterest after he made his billions. But now, he had the perfect opportunity to strike, take Black Sun for his own and make the Consortium the true power in the galactic underground.

Urai gave him his version of a smile. A truly dangerous Force sensitive warrior, Urai had served in the armies of the Brotherhood of the Sith four thousand years ago, serving under the Sith Marauder Darth Sion. After the Brotherhood had collapsed, he had served as a retainer to Sion, helping him carve a bloody swathe through the Mandalorians for sport during the Mandalorian Wars. He had then joined Revan's empire with his master, and had stayed loyally at Sion's side until his death at the hands of the Jedi Exile. Without his master, partner and surprisingly enough friend, Urai had drifted, hiring himself out to various beings across the galaxy, until the advent of the Great Galactic War. Besting the personal guards of Darth Malgus, he had become a servant of the Sith Empire, however once Malgus had been bested after declaring his own empire, Urai was once again leaderless. He had become a mercenary, working for people whom he approved of and could relate to, and while it wasn't quite as stimulating he had enjoyed the work. As a result, the Brotherhood of Darkness had passed him by and he steadily made his way across the galaxy in the centuries, until coming to Anaxes and taking a job at Zann Remanufacturing. There he had met Tyber, and since then the two had been virtually inseparable, they had built the Consortium together, defied the Empire and the Rebellion together, and now planned to take down Black Sun together as they had always been.

"What am I an amateur? As far as I can see the only one that might be a problem is their new overlord. Are we sure Acib is dying?" he asked in his gravelly voice and Tyber nodded, grinning coldly as he did so.

"Oh yes the old git is on his way out alright. He seems to think he could get a new body, how deluded is that? Either way, Black Sun will soon be ripe for the taking. And by the time their underlings realise what's going on, it'll be far too late." Zann promised darkly, and Urai chuckled.

"That's because they think we're long gone. How wrong they are. And, once we deal with this, we can settle old scores, correct?" Urai asked, growling as he showed Zann the long lightsaber scar beneath his beak feathers.

"Yes my friend. When all is said and done, you and I will hunt down our old friends. Solo and I are due a catchup, and while we 'talk' you can kill his son." He said cheerfully, and the two of them began to chuckle darkly.

And across the galaxy, the forces of the Zann Consortium were once again on the move, spreading their poison through the stars, marshalling their forces as they prepared to once more return to the galaxy and bring a new era of crime to the reach of the masses.

XX

She opened her eyes.

After all her years of searching, she had finally found him again. Tyber Zann would not have rolled over and died for the convenience of anyone. He had simply moved far beyond her sight, but now, she had him. He had returned to the mainstream galaxy, which could only mean one thing: he was planning something.

And it was her job to take it from him.

Silri got to her feet, stretching. Beside her, her faithful rancor Cuddles stirred, following her inside the mausoleum where she made her home. All these long years, she had been preparing to strike against Zann. By the time she had realised what she now had at her disposal, Zann had vanished into obscurity, and hence she had been stuck here, not wanting to leave in case someone else got to her find.

Zann had returned to the galaxy. Yes he had. She would show him, yes she would, the true meaning of power. As she had promised oh so many years ago.

"We'll show him won't we beloved?" Silri cooed to Cuddles who growled in response as they entered the mausoleum.

It was filled with row upon row of carbonite blocks, with over two thousand men on this level alone. Beneath her there were several more levels, all of them filled with men trapped in carbonite, awaiting someone to awaken them.

"Soon my pretties, you will wake, and we will wage war on Tyber Zann, won't we?" she asked the one closest to the altar on the right, the one she had decided was her favourite.

Thousands of men, troops from the Jedi Civil War, all trapped here, just waiting for her to free them. And now, she would have their loyalty. When she had first arrived and discovered the army, she had unthawed the one who was hanging on the back wall, the one with the lightsaber in front of his slab. Fearing he would take her army from her and prevent her getting her revenge, she had killed him, feeding his corpse to Cuddles. Now the Sith would serve her, all ten thousand of them.

And that wasn't the half of it. Below, in the largest cavern, six massive ships waited. They may be ancient yes, but she could feel the power of them, they whispered to her, telling her what they could do. They wanted to be used, and now she cooed to them in the Force, telling her lovely ships that soon they would get to go out and play. They and her troops would be reunited, and Zann's head would be hers. Everything he had built, she would make fall. She deserved this. She had been trapped here too long, with only Cuddles for company, Cuddles, the troops and the ships. But now it would all change. Soon she would be free of this world.

And she would exact her revenge on Tyber Zann.

"Soon my pretties, soon." She promised as she swept down the central aisle once more, the floor turning opaque as she progressed, showing the massed ranks of troops beneath her, and far below in the deepest cavern, the idle _Centurion _class battlecruiser and the five _Interdictor _class cruisers which she would soon free in order to get her revenge on the one who wronged her: Tyber Zann.

XX

The _Unyielding_, being one of the rare _Aggressor _class Star Destroyers in existence, was bad enough. Their heavy plasma cannons were more than adequate to punch through the shields of anything smaller than an ISD and win with impunity. Hence, Daala had two problems. The first was that Nazarn seemed to have realised this and was hence picking on the _Leveler_, one of her Acclamator cruisers. The second was that it wasn't just the _Unyielding_ she was having to deal with, he had two more of the infernal things along with him.

And that wasn't all. Nazarn had a rather large and powerful fleet at his disposal. The fleet that he had led at Orvax, the one assembled by the T'Surr, of which the _Unyielding_ was a main aspect was large enough, but ever since then and Nazarn's rebellion against the rulers of T'Surr, his fleet had steadily been growing. Defectors from Hutt space, slavers who feared their masters would cave to Alliance pressure had been the first to flock to his banner. Individual slavers, hearing of Nazarn's stance and fleeing Alliance or Imperial power had fled out to the rings, joining forces with Nazarn. While this sort were lucky to have two ships per group, and the ships weren't usually particularly powerful, eventually the numbers did start to add up. But other than the support of individual slavers and Hutt defectors, along with a few officially sent by the Hutts in order to protect their slaving practices, there were still a large number of groups who were making Nazarn their official leader. The Zygerrians, daring to show their heads again after their last bid for empire had collapsed due to the actions of Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars had returned, nominating Nazarn as their champion and giving him command of their sizeable fleet of Imperial II Frigates, their _Freighter_ class ships and their _Aurore _class slaving ships. Iris Snow of the little known Corellian Slavers Guild had also come forward, pledging her sizeable fleet of _Assassin _class corvettes, Corellian corvettes, gunships and CC9600 frigates. Trandoshans of the Blackscale Clan had also rallied to Nazarn, giving him a large fleet of Marauder frigates, Tartan frigates, a few Lancers, a couple of Star Galleons and their command ship an old Trade Federation Missile Frigate. The Maldor Ring, Sennex slavers, and the Thalassian slavers had all joined his fleet, gifting him with many ships including several _Kaloth_ class cruisers. The Galderians had joined him, gifting him with several Space ARCs, as had the Elaginn, the Ahntanda, and the Zel'iphian. However, the true firepower, other than that of Nazarn's fleet, came from the large collectives that had joined with the vicious slaver. The Karazak slavers Cooperative had fielded a large force, manned by several Victory II Frigates, and made up of Broadside cruisers, dungeon ships, and a couple of Carrack cruisers and Dreadnaughts. The Myraranor Slaving Council had also put forward a large amount of ships, including several _Gladiator _class Star Destroyers which Nazarn had delightedly lapped up. And finally, remnants of the Peace Brigade, which had been hiding out in the galactic arms, hiding from Daala as she mounted a campaign to crush the last Peace Brigade holdouts, had also joined forces, giving him access to a couple of heavy cruisers, such as more _Gladiator_ class Star Destroyers and other weapons.

The blue and red swirling gasses were playing havoc with their sensors however as the two fleets clashed for the first time. Althought neither Daala nor Nazarn had their full fleets here, both of them still had a sizeable fleet, and now both fleets were pounding the living daylights out of each other, determined to blow the other one out of the sky. If Nazarn killed Daala, the Tingel Arm, the Bakchou Arm and the entire swath of the Outer Rim in between would be wide open to the foul slaver. And if Daala won, the people in the arms who looked to her for protection would be safe and she could go and assist Pellaeon as the galaxy seemed determined once again to rip itself apart.

"Send the _Dragonflower_ to cut off those two _Gladiators_, otherwise this is going to become even more of a brawl than it already is." Daala ordered as a blast from the _Unyielding_ rocked the _Right to Rule_.

Behind the ISD that was her command ship, the Lucrehulk cruiser _Barrister_ was firing hard and fast, obliterating three of Nazarn's Assassin corvettes. Fighters were firing all around it, keeping Nazarn's smaller ships at bay but the cruiser had taken severe damage. Around it the other Acclamators were truly entering the battle, led by the VSD _Blazing Star_, all cannons blazing. However, against them Nazarn had several of his _Gladiator _class Star Destroyers, the three _Aggressor _class were sending out a dangerous wall of fire that was preventing Daala getting close enough with her forces in order to engage his flagship.

"The _Spirit of the Republic_ is en route with its task force Admiral!" one of her crewers reported as another blast rocked her aged Star Destroyer.

Daala frowned as one of her Broadside cruisers was hit by an ion barrage, taking it out of the battle. Her _Republic_ class cruisers quickly came to the ships aid, but it was too late to stop the destruction of one of her IPV wings, destroying three of the small ships to her great fury.

"Bring the fleet together, push forward right towards the _Unyielding_, if we can take it down we can kill Nazarn and end this before it gets any worse." Daala said, her green eyes narrowed.

Nazarn had recently attacked the homeworld of the secular Draethos species, Thosa. He had kidnapped over two thousand Draethos slaves and was now trying to escape with them. The mage in charge of the planet had immediately contacted Daala, and as he was one of the worlds that came under her jurisdiction in the spiral arms at this end of the galaxy, she had immediately summoned what ships she could reach and had prepared an ambush. She had had her Interdictor cruiser, called _Maw_, pull Nazarn's fleet out of lightspeed as it had entered the Thandon star cluster, as he had had to slow down in order to navigate the treacherous entry into the cluster. Trapped by her interdictor, she had sprung the trap, her flagship backed up by her Acclamator cruisers, one of her VSDS, a Lucrehulk and several smaller ships. Her second taskforce, the one containing the two _Nebula_ class Star Destroyers had then arrived with its own back up, boxing Nazarn in and soon her son Wilhuff would arrive with his faction of the fleet, the _Venator_ class Star Destroyers, backed up by her Pelta frigates and the _Arquiten_ class frigates. Between the lot of them they ought to be able to deal a crippling blow to the foul slaver.

"Admiral, we've received a report from the _Packhorse_, they have seized the dungeon ship the slaves are on and are pulling it to the _Maw_'s position." Her Gotal sensors officer reported and she nodded, her eyes focused on the battle.

Her three Star Galleons were dragging the dungeon ship with the captured Draethos slaves out of harm's way, flanked by her _Republic_ class frigates as they did so, the frigates giving a blistering field of fire that kept the enemy fighters away from them. However, Nazarn was not going to give up that easily, and now his _Gladiator_s were heading after the captured slave ship, long range weapons coming online.

Outside, all was bloody chaos. The blue and red gasses of the nebula were causing havoc with most of the smaller ships sensors, and was also interfering with the targeting computers of the fighters, particularly the droid fighters such as the vulture and scarab droids that were flying around outside. Ideally, Daala would never have engaged Nazarn here, but she had been left with no choice, she had to save the slaves that he had taken. However defeating him here was proving to be a nightmare. His ship matched hers in number, and in terms of heavy weapons such as the _Aggressor_ class Star Destroyers he had, she couldn't really match him, at present the only ships in her fleet that could match one was her own aged ISD and the Lucrehulk behind her, and that was acting as a fighter platform and she had no desire to risk her remaining Lucrehulk in a last stand against him. Turbolaser fire of all colours was firing through the nebula, and missiles, despite the interference from the nebula, were still causing severe damage, she had lost two of her IPVs, and one of her _Republic_ frigates had been destroyed as well. The _Leveler_, an old flagship of Pellaeon's, had also sustained heavy damage and was out of the battle, and the _Champion_, unless it got out of the way of the _Unbending_, another _Aggressor_ class' guns, would be more than out of the battle it would be destroyed. The _Ghost_, her second _Nebula_ class, had also lost all propulsion, and while it could still fight it was stuck in place, a fact Nazarn was exploiting as he was keeping his ships away from it. However, there was some good news. Several of his smaller IPV craft, a few of his freighters and transports and a good portion of the Zygerrian forces had been annihilated by the superior fire power of her destroyer class cruisers. Several of his Interceptor frigates had also been taken out of commission by an ion barrage from the _Dragonflower_, and what was more one of his Imperial frigates had been struck out in the early battle and her Star Galleons had tugged it out of the way, so she had at least gained a ship out of all this. She swore under her breath as a Tartan cruiser that she owned was destroyed, the explosion taking out a flight of fighters in the process. Nazarn ripped another hole in her fleet as he blew apart another _Republic_ frigate, and her _Agave _class picket ship was also shot out of existence.

"They're here Admiral!" the call came and Daala smiled as her son's task force, three _Venator_ class Star Destroyers strong, backed up by a flight of _Arquitens_ class frigates and _Pelta _class corvettes shot out of lightspeed and fired a devastating barrage into one of the enemy _Gladiator_ class. Caught by the surprise attack the Star Destroyer didn't stand a chance, fire was blossoming all over its hull as the concentrated barrage punched right through the shields, chewing apart the command tower of the ship. With a final series of explosions, the ship blew apart, making Daala smile.

"Alright, Taskforce Alpha, power to shields and engines, we'll go straight up the middle, maximum firepower, I want those blasted Star Destroyers taken down. Taskforce Beta, cut off his other ships and start to mop up the ships left outside our cordon. Taskforce Gamma, maximum firepower, destroy as much as you can before we get there!" she barked and her fleet reacted instantly to her orders.

The taskforce that was headed by the _Dragonflower_ and commanded by her old friend Yelnorimmediately began to box Nazarn in, cutting him off from his Interceptor frigates and one of his _Kaloth_ battlecruisers that were left outside. Her son Wilhuff, in command of the _Spirit of the Republic_ advanced forward, the ships forming a lethal wall that advanced upon Nazarn's forces, which combined with his mothers were doing rather a lot of damage to his forces.

"Ma'am, we're being contacted by Nazarn."

"Too much to expect a surrender?" her second in command, a Togruta by the name of Jakx Vee asked wryly, and Daala grinned as the ugly image of Nazarn materialised before her.

"You may have won this round schutta, but it is not the last. We will meet each other again, and I will make you pay dearly for what you have done to my forces." The blue skinned being snarled, and Daala raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Your forces are surrounded and cut off and my fleet is about to destroy yours slaver scum." She hissed, and the T'Surr chuckled.

"Not really." He said and his holo died.

"Bad feeling?" Jakx asked nervously and Daala frowned. Nazarn had to have something planned, but what was he planning?

"Admiral, I'm getting severe radiation levels coming from the _Unyielding_!" the Gotal barked, and Daala realised what he intended to do.

"All ships take evasive action! _Maw_, haul your ass and get out of the way, _Packhorse_, get the slaves out of harm's way!" she ordered desperately, as Nazarn fired a baradium missile from the front of his ship.

The missile streaked towards the _Maw_, but it was clear that it had done it's desired job, anything else now was just a bonus. Daala's fleet had broken off the attack in order to avoid being destroyed by the radiation bomb, and the gravity well projected by the _Maw_ had moved, which meant Nazarn was now home free. And with a final flicker, his fleet jumped away, leaving Daala seething in the star cluster as her vicious quarry escaped her once again.

XX

An hour later, the politics of battle were over. The last of Nazarn's ships had either surrendered or blown themselves up, the survivors on both sides had been collected and the captured ships cleansed of slavers with extreme prejudice. Now, they were finally out of the star cluster, hanging in clear space once again as Daala looked over the reports of the battle, pondering to herself.

She had the numbers to defeat Nazarn. And theoretically she had the firepower. However, the only way that would work is if she took Nazarn down in a massive free for all, and his ships were incredibly well armed, it would destroy a large portion of her significant fleet to take out Nazarn's, and she wasn't even guaranteed a victory. This war of attrition would weaken her forces and he would be able to exploit that. And, as the last battle had shown, his firepower was enough to match nearly all the ships in the fleet, other than the _Right to Rule _and the _Barrister_. He could easily whittle down her forces, and as her fleet was made up of donations, planetary defence forces and ships she had accumulated over the years, replacements were not easy to come by, and in a war with that blasted slaver she could easily lose all of her forces piecemeal and he would be free to do what he wanted with the arms. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. At least they had won, and if he hadn't used the baradium missile, he'd have been destroyed. Which of course begged the question of where the hell he got the missile, but that was tomorrow's problem.

Making herself a cup of coffee, she was contemplating giving the last orders when a holo flickered to life, and for the first time that day a genuine smile came to her face.

"Gilad, you've no idea how glad I am to see you." She said happily, slumping tiredly into her chair.

"You look as tired as I feel. Rough week?" he asked, a small smile appearing under his bushy white moustache.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." She promised, and for the next hour, the two of them recounted what had transpired the last week, and by the end, although she felt better at her end, her smile had disappeared to be replaced with a scowl.

"Can't you do anything about him?" she asked, in reference to Lecersen and Pellaeon chuckled darkly.

"You want the leader of the Empire to punish the first person to expand it since the Orinda campaign?" he asked and she hissed between her teeth.

She knew there was a reason she despised moffs. This was one of them. They existed, they breathed and they caused more problems than they were worth.

"I told you you should have shot them all. Didn't you learn anything back when we united the warlords? If in doubt, gas them" she said brightly, a slight grin on her face and he chuckled.

"Don't tempt me. Lecersen is up to something Natasi. I don't know what, but something isn't quite right. I know he has Quille and Freyborn in on this with him, and whatever it is they're up to, it doesn't sit right with me. There's more going on here than me or my supporters can see, and that makes him dangerous." Pellaeon said darkly, suddenly showing his fairly substantial age as he slumped a little, and Daala's heart panged for him, he didn't deserve to look so drawn out and weary, he deserved a life of peace after fighting so long.

"You think he wants the Empire?" she asked darkly because if that jumped up moff thought he was taking the Empire from her oldest friend he could think again, she would slaughter him.

Pellaeon frowned.

"I don't know. In meetings he's always quiet, reserved, this is out of character if nothing else. I mean he definitely has the capacity for it all, I just wouldn't expect it of him. And don't get me wrong, he is the one behind all this, it just seems like there's something I'm not seeing, and it's making m uneasy." He said tersely, and Daala frowned, then gave him a small comforting smile.

"If you want I'm more than happy to renew my old hobby of killing moffs." She said and he smiled, then frowned.

"Ah, I'm fine. But this Nazarn guy seems to be getting worse. Anything I can do to help?" he asked, and she scowled.

"Yes, tell the Alliance to clean up their own damn messes in future." She said grumpily and she could see him hiding a grin.

"Believe me, the Alliance has got enough of its own problems. Poor Releqy looks absolutely exhausted. Everything is getting to her, she's got more and more crises appearing every hour and she can't cope. Hell I doubt the Emperor would cope." He mused and she looked at him curiously.

"You reckon she'll crack?" she asked in surprise.

After all, the fact that she was cleaning up a mess made by her lot (though she knew it was more Niathal's fault than Ak'las that she was dealing with Nazarn) aside, she actually quite liked Ak'la as a chief of state. And, naive it may be but as a result she actually though Ak'la could cope.

"No, I don't think so, she's too stubborn. She's just having a bad time of it. But other than having words with Niathal is there anything I can do?" he asked and she nodded.

"Supplies wouldn't go amiss if I'm basically fighting a war with this blasted slaver. And any and all ships would be welcome." She said, and he looked at her questioningly.

"Surely your fleet should be able to handle some ill disciplined slaver?" he asked and she seethed.

"Theoretically it can. But Nazarn has a much larger fleet at least in terms of numbers all told. I outgun him but his heavy firepower can destroy a lot of mine, which in general terms makes us roughly equal, which is the problem. I need a bit more heavy firepower so if it comes to a brawl I can take out one of his _Aggressor _classes before they wreck too much of my fleet." She explained and Pellaeon sighed.

"I wish I could help you Natasi, I really do. We ought to be crushing scum like Nazarn before he causes any more damage rather than worrying about runaway moffs but I can't help, well, I can't send a Star Destroyer or two no matter how much I want to. With Lecersen having grand plans for expansion, me keeping an eye on him and keeping the peace on Bastion, along with deflecting more and more frequent Vong raids and sending a task force to chase Collonzas and preparing to help Tenel Ka should she need it I don't have any major cruisers to spare." He said apologetically and she sighed.

"It's alright Gilad, not your fault the galaxy's going to hell in a handbasket. What is going on?" she asked forlornly and he shrugged.

"No idea, but like you say, it's out of hand and only getting worse. The Vong are definitely skulking for some reason, I think they plan to attack us just like they are the Alliance." He said darkly and she glowered with him, the last thing they all needed was a return of the Vong.

"Well, I'll ask them to help. It's their mess I'm cleaning up, the least they can do is lend me a mop." She said and he nodded.

"I can certainly send you supplies, and a few small ships, but I'd rather they had an escort. Actually, if you're going to ask the Alliance to lend a hand, why not ask in person? Admiral Bwua'tu is apparently at Kuat, you could make that trip in a few days if you needed to." He suggested and she mused on it, then nodded.

"The worst he can say is no, and if not, I'll pop by Mandalore. Fett owes me one, and if I wipe out a Death Watch camp or two for him he might lend me a ship. So, I'll ask Bwua'tu at Kuat, and then go to Mandalore, and once I've done that I'll head to Bastion to rendezvous with your task force." She said, and Gilad smiled and nodded.

"Then I will see you in about a week. Be careful Natasi, the moffs still don't like you much. And don't let Nazarn get you down either." He warned kindly and she gave him a tired smile.

"You be careful too old friend. And if you need me, you know what to do, summon me, and I'll be there, just like Darakaer." She reminded him and he nodded.

"I've never doubted it. Good night my dear." He said and his holo flickered out.

Daala frowned as Gilad vanished. The Vong were on the move. The Alliance was unable to fight everything threatening it. The moffs were acting up and flouting Pellaeon's authority. Slavers and pirates were stronger than they should be. Civil war was ripping apart Hapes and Mandalore. And slaves across the galaxy were campaigning for freedom.

Something was definitely wrong here, something was happening, they just couldn't see it. A threat, or a power was rising, and she had a horrible feeling they could all feel it.

And it was making her uneasy.

She shook her head. She had a job to do, defeat Nazarn and keep the arms safe from him. And to do that she needed support. Which meant she had to go and see the Alliance.

"Lieutenant Andars, signal my son on the _Spirit of the Republic_ and tell him I want to see him." She told the Gotal over the comm, and he set about doing it.

She would charge Wilhuff with taking the Draethos back home, and leading the fleet while she was gone. And then, she would head to Kuat and hope the Alliance would help.

Or if not, her war was going to get a hell of a lot harder.

**Hello again!**

**Sorry this took so long I thought my last update was more recent than October, and with other stories and my dissertation this one got shunted back, if its any consolation I did intend to upload this a lot earlier, but I got distracted any never finished it.**

**However, we're here now. Events are beginning to mesh together. Recently its been basically everyone else then the Skywalkers but as things get worse they all start to mesh together.**

**We have civil war in Hapes and Mandalore, the Empire is expanding, war in the galactic arms, the Vong on the rise, Black Sun up for grabs and all other sorts of things are all starting to happen. Things can't get much worse can they?**

**Course they can, but that's for later**

**Anywho, next chapter we see Releqy reacting to recent events (I can tell you now she doesnt take them well), the Jedi power waning, the power of the Sith growing and the first stop on the tour to try and defeat Abeloth, and hopefully it will be up soon but until then as always please read and review!**


	16. Episode II: Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

The beeping comm was responsible for all her troubles. She knew there was someone on the other end but to her very sleep deprived state of mind, it was the comm and the comm alone responsible for whatever new piece of news was about to ruin her night's sleep. She scoffed as she looked at the clock, that was only if half an hour could be justified as sleep.

"Yes what is it?" Releqy demanded angrily.

"Chief Ak'la, you need to come to the communications room. Now." Belindi said before signing off, and cursing the Force she made her way out of bed once again, bitterly cursing her lack of sleep and whatever the new crisis was that was plaguing the Alliance. She wouldn't mind nearly so much but everything these days seemed to be a crisis. Slavers ripping apart the fringes of the galaxy, slave revolts stretching their forces and resources thin, pirates attacking left right and centre, missing task forces, missing supply runs, absent ships and the biggest problem of them all, the civil war that had broken out in Hapes, the entire galaxy seemed determined to implode in the shortest time possible, it was driving her round the twist.

She entered the communications room to see organised chaos, but was immensely relieved when Wynn Dorvan fell into step beside her, forcing a cup of coffee on her.

"You'll need it. And no offence Chief, but you look like you need it too." He said and she smiled slightly.

"I don't doubt. Alright Belindi, what's the latest crisis?" she asked as she took her position around the central display, and didn't fail to notice the nervous looks passing between Niathal and Kalenda.

"There's two new crises, you won't like either of them." Niathal said and Releqy sighed.

"Very well, give me the better of the two first, we'll work up to the bad one." She said and Belindi grimaced.

"A civil war has broken out in the Mandalorian sector. Fett's Mandalorians against Death Watch. Shots have already been fired and the people there are gearing up for war." she said, and Releqy groaned wearily.

"That's all we need, another civil war. Now with the Hapans on one side and the Mandalorians on the other, all the various brush wars and planetary civil wars that we've been in control of will start spiralling out of control and everyone will start leaping on the same bandwagon. If the usual culprits start up again, like the Sepans and the Osarians, can we cope?" she asked and Niathal pursed her lips.

"Only with great difficulty, we're stretched far too thin as it is, policing potential trouble spots will further weaken us, it'll be like saying 'kick us, we're vulnerable'. Although Hapes and Mandalore aren't our fault, people will still blame us for all of this and as soon as the trouble spots hear about Mandalore going up too, then we're scuppered, they'll all want to start settling grudges." She explained and Releqy hissed between her teeth.

"Damn them all. Can we suppress the story?" she asked, and Kalenda shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, it's already gone out, besides civil wars don't keep quiet for very long regardless. Our only option is that we try to help Fett resolve it quickly, perhaps send in a Jedi..."

"Fett won't allow a Jedi on Mandalore, he has no use for them, and even if he did, Death Watch wouldn't listen to them either, remember, Death Watch blames the Jedi for most of their ills. So that option is obviously out. What about the fleet?" Releqy asked Niathal who sagged visibly.

"What with everything else going on you want to mount an invasion of Mandalore?" she demanded and Releqy rolled her eyes.

"No of course not, don't be silly. I'm just wondering if we can help Fett in other ways, if he'll let us, perhaps blockade the sector or something." She said, but Niathal shook her head.

"Not really, we can have the fleet nearby but we won't be able to do much other than that, it's a civil war so a blockade is fairly out of the question. The most we can do is try to keep it spreading beyond their own sector, but even then we hardly have the forces to accomplish that, and the only fleet I could use is Admiral Limpan's, and that has its hands full dealing with pirates and Vong and disappearing convoys to worry much about the Mandalorians." She concluded in irritation and Releqy sighed.

"I shall talk to Fett, see if I can't do anything, even if we just support him with supplies. The Senate will want us to take action on this, technically they're more integrated into the Alliance than the Hapans are, and two civil wars starting in a week is going to make us look very powerless. Where do we stand with the Verpine, what's their part in this?" she asked, and Kalenda passed her a datacard as yet more people ran around them, trying to deal with the various crises plaguing their existence.

"They will support Fett with materiel and supplies but we don't think they will actually get involved in the conflict, however because of where Mandalore is situated, this entire thing could easily blow up. Wayland for example could easily start up a war between the three species settled there. This could get bad very quickly." Kalenda briefed her and Releqy groaned.

"Alright, so that was the good news, what was the bad news?" she asked, and Niathal groaned, this was clearly her piece of news to deliver and judging by the look on her face, Releqy seriously didn't want to hear it.

"Mygeeto has left the Alliance, they've joined the Empire." She said in a rush, and waited for the inevitable blow to fall.

"What? When did that happen?" Releqy hissed, and Kalenda winced.

"Just before we called you, it's why we called you actually. Basically, as far as we're aware the Lurmen were less than happy about the rising pirate and Vong attacks around their world. The Empire, namely Lecersen, were passing through the system and whipped them into a frenzy and as a result they've joined the Empire." She explained and Releqy groaned.

This was the first time the Empire had expanded since the Orinda campaign, and was the very last thing she needed. It wasn't that she begrudged the Empire expanding its borders (not that she would tell the Senate that) she begrudged them expanding under Lecersen's direction rather than Pellaeon. She had tried, after all there had been a time when it had looked as though Lecersen would replace Pellaeon, when she had tried to get on with the man but she just couldn't stand him, she thought he was slimy, untrustworthy and arrogant, and he clearly had his own agenda up his sleeve. And now he had put her and Pellaeon in am impossible situation.

The hardliners in the Senate would obviously declare the Lurmen were coerced and demand retribution, and from the most militant of the lot there would be calls to declare war. The lesser faction would counsel to alienate the Empire and Mygeeto, along with reducing operations in that area of space. On the other hand, the more pacifist ones would counsel caution, urge her to accept what had happened and use the chance to build better relations with the Empire. However while those were problems, there were other things to take into consideration.

The Empire had now expanded, and she had a feeling this wouldn't be a one hit wonder, Lecersen would try again. That meant the Empire would be expanding at a time when the Alliance was struggling to keep itself together. In fact, the Lurmen, with some help from their new imperial friends, could easily begin a cascade of defections from the Alliance into the Empire, which could easily tear the already fragile Alliance apart. It would also make it seem incredibly weak, which might encourage the Hutts to push to keep their own slaves, and would also make it all the more difficult to impose law and order across the galaxy, and would most likely further discourage the Chiss, if they ever decided to talk to them again, which due to the long silence wasn't likely.

And that was just from the Alliance's point of view. On the imperial front, Lecersen's popularity was about to go through the roof, which could easily mean a challenge was in the offing for control of the Empire. It also meant that Pellaeon would be unable to criticise the move, because Lecersen would now be seen as a hero of the Empire, despite his action being technically illegal. In one stroke Lecersen had backed both her and Pellaeon up against a wall.

"Alright, this is clearly going to be a long night. Other people are sleeping, I wonder what that's like. We can do nothing about Mygeeto, they've made their choice and have joined the Empire, so pull out all Alliance related forces from the planet. I need to talk to Pellaeon so someone get me him. Between the Hapans and the Mandalorians I really do not need to deal with the Empire too, but Lecersen has forced my hand. Admiral, see what you can do to bolster our flagging support in the planets closest to the imperial border. Don't arm them per se, just send a few more ships through them at a time, have them use those planets as a base to find out where our other ships keep vanishing too. Mygeeto will not have been an isolated incident, far from it. If Lecersen is driving this speeder, he has bigger goals in mind. We also need to bolster up our support, try and keep as few people as possible from considering any offers he might put their way. Let's go people" Releqy ordered and the room became a flurry of activity once again, and she groaned to herself.

"And could someone bring me something deep fried and smothered in chocolate?" she asked hopefully, because this was going to be a very long week.

XX

"So you can't do anything to stop him?" she asked and Pellaeon shook his head.

"No, and if I'd known what he planned I'd have stopped him before he did it. I swear I had no idea that he was planning to expand the Empire." He said, and Releqy sighed.

"I didn't doubt that you did Gilad. The problem is now at least six other planets are looking at Mygeeto with interest, as in 'we want to follow your lead' interest. In one swoop he's destabilised the entire Alliance, given ideas to countless other planets, made us a laughing stock and further chipped away at our already tenuous power." She grumbled and he nodded in understanding.

"I know the feeling believe me. He's being lauded in the streets, the moffs who I know supported him are worshipping the very ground he's walking upon and now I've got an extra planet to defend when I'm already stressed as it is, I could only get three ships to help Daala and the biggest of them is an Interdictor. With Vong depredations I'm overstretched, the task force I'm preparing for Tenel Ka is taking up a lot and protecting the rest of the Empire is using all my resources, and while he's adding resources he's also stretching them thin." He said, sounding only slightly frustrated and she smiled.

"Though you certainly don't mind that the Empire has just expanded." She said shrewdly, and he smiled back, bowing his head respectfully.

"Perhaps, I certainly won't deny it does my old imperial spirit a bit of good to see us expand for the first time in ages." He admitted ruefully and she sighed.

"To tell you the truth I'm not particularly bothered that the Empire expanded, and while it does annoy me that it was one of our worlds who joined you, it also doesn't bother me that much. What bothers me is that it was Lecersen doing his bit in the limelight and now I'm going to be spending the next six months cleaning up the mess he just made while trying to prevent anyone else from following Mygeeto's lead." She said in frustration, and Pellaeon frowned thoughtfully.

"So you're not opposed to further expansion of the Empire, the Alliance wouldn't act to stop it?" he asked, and she groaned wearily.

"It depends on how you define further expansion. From our worlds, yes, but if unaligned worlds or worlds from other powers want to join you I have no problem with it. And I have a problem if it's Lecersen doing the expanding rather than you, I do not like that man, and he's just proven how dangerous he is. He'll only keep pushing his luck and eventually he'll bite off more than any of us can chew and with the Vong out there, it will only make both sides weaker not just mine." She said worriedly and Pellaeon nodded.

"I see your point my friend. I will try and curb his enthusiastic expansionism but I don't see much chance of it succeeding, I reckon you might be right, this most likely is only the beginning. May the Force be with you." He said, and she repeated the same to him, and shut off the holo, kneading her head with her fingers. It seemed her headache was permanent these days.

Word had already come that shots had been fired on Osarian and in the Sepan system, which meant it was only a matter of time before they all kicked off. So, following the newly fashionable trend of civil wars, combined with the slave rebellions that were now becoming increasingly militant across the galaxy, the Alliance and the Jedi were spread thin. They had more crises than they had diplomats, and when they failed to soothe those crises they became conflicts and frankly they didn't have the ships to deal with them either. Planets were petitioning the Empire for leadership, which she was sure was Lecersen's plan all along, others were apparently looking at neutrality and others were going into isolation. And all through it all, their ability to hold on to what they had was diminishing, ships and task forces were going missing, Jedi were going insane (and she was certain that in her meeting that morning with Hamner and Solusar, Kam had nearly slipped that a couple of Jedi had vanished too) and all around them enemies who should never be able to pose a significant threat such as slavers and pirates were getting stronger, and combined with the obviously returning Vong forces the Alliance was falling apart at the seams, and as far as she could see, it was only going to get worse.

She had promised when she became head of state that she would protect the Alliance, renew it and improve on it. At this rate she would be lucky to keep it in one piece until the end of the month.

"You know Wynn," she said as he entered with a sympathetic expression and a plate of tea and biscuits, "there are days I really hate this job."

XX

"Alliance in chaos, Jedi ill equipped, Vong rising, I should stop reading the news, it only depresses me." Han complained at breakfast the next morning as he read over the recent reports, and Leia hissed between her teeth.

"What the hell is Lecersen playing at?" she demanded and Mara smirked.

"Surely you recognise it Leia, it's called politics. He knows full well the Lurmen were pissed off and that we actually couldn't hold them, and even if we wanted to stop him we couldn't, he won before he even left Bastion. It's simple, piss off your opponent when they can't hit back." She said brightly, and Lumiya scowled as she did the crossword.

"Since when did I enjoy family breakfasts...well that can't be right, Coruscant doesn't have an x in it..." she muttered to herself, and K'kruhk looked at the crossword with her, while Alema blew bubbles into her cup of coffee with a straw.

"You can't spell that's your problem." He said, pointing at the word she had spelt wrong and she cursed as she tried to fix it.

"The Order isn't doing much better, a Jedi has gone missing near the Imperial border." Luke muttered, unfortunately for him, he said it out loud and Lumiya's ever alert ears were now twitching.

"Really?" Jacen asked in concern, pinching a sausage from Mara's plate when she wasn't looking.

"So we're missing Jedi now as well as losing them to insanity? What the hell is going on out there?" Jaina demanded, stealing a bit of bacon from Luke's plate.

"I don't know but it's getting worse, between us, the Empire and two civil wars, the entire galaxy's shaking itself apart. Hey, what's the big idea?" Luke demanded as he looked at his depleted plate.

"Has anyone else started shooting at each other yet?" K'kruhk asked, reading the horoscopes, all of which mentioned night which he decided to ignore in case they were an omen.

"Aside from Rhomamool and Osarian and the Sepans beginning to gear up, no. But the more worlds start shooting at each other, the more likely they are to spread and hence more worlds keep shooting at each other." Leia explained as she sipped her coffee.

Han sighed wearily.

"Alright, we need to figure out our next move now we've fixed the ship. Are you sure that Sith friend of yours has gone Lumiya?" Han asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, he wouldn't stay here any longer than he had to, he would risk Krayt's anger if he did so, it would keep three incredibly valuable Star Destroyers away from him, he wouldn't like that. So we must continue with our mission, and we better hurry, your Alliance is falling apart and the dark side is going to be impeding your ability to do your job rather soon." She said, and Luke glowered at her.

"Though it pains me to admit it, she is right. We need to get a move on." Luke said, to K'kruhk's nods.

"You're quite right, Abeloth is growing in strength and power by the day and the last thing we need is to lose Tra, she can't hold out much longer. So we must find out more about Abeloth and her powers, and the information we got from Kesh will be of great use in this regard. I've studied some of the texts we took, as has Lumiya." He said, indicating for the Sith to continue.

"The Sith Lord Dreypa has received a fair amount of documentation from the Tribe's historians due to his imprisonment on the planet. He was one of the Exiles in the Hundred Year Darkness and fled into obscurity following the conflict. However, while he and other ancient Sith such as Karness Muur and XoXaan fought amongst themselves, he also wished to return to wreak his revenge upon the Republic and the Jedi. However, he was scuppered in this and actually wound up on Kesh, where he was eventually freed and he began a blistering campaign against the Tribe, using Leviathans in his campaign. He was eventually killed, however, some of his writings have apparently survived. While Dreypa was all but banished to Kesh, several of his followers who had expected his second campaign against the Jedi to succeed eventually gave him up for dead and created a mausoleum on Ziost. That is where we should go." She explained, and Ben looked at her sceptically.

"Alright, I get that it's interesting, and that we get the stuff from a recently annihilated Sith world, but what's so important about this Dreyba dude?" he asked, and Lumiya rolled her eyes.

"Dreypa, not Dreyba, he was a Hutt painter. Anyway, Dreypa was a powerful Sith Lord, who could control the Leviathans. K'kruhk has a theory that the way a Leviathan works, consuming the souls of its victims is akin to what Abeloth does, and thinks we may find something of interest. Also, Andeddu mentioned Dreypa during our fight with him, so he may have more information on the Demon of the Dark, so we think it's worth a visit." She said, and Han nodded.

"Seems fair to me. Let's get going, get away from this place." He said, getting to his feet after giving Ben a worried look over, and Jacen nodded slightly as the others all left the table, aside from Alema who was now having a staring contest with her reflection in her spoon.

"Lumiya..." Jaina said, pointing to the Dark Jedi and the Sith shrugged.

"She's not harming anyone, it's keeping her occupied and besides, she's your problem in the morning, not mine." She said tartly and Jaina scowled as she made to move the insane Twi'lek.

"You ok?" Jacen asked softly, and Ben nodded a little hesitantly.

"Yeah. Sorry for the other day, it was just..." he said, not meeting his cousin's eyes and Jacen crouched a little so he was looking Ben right in the eye.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. It was hard for us to feel Kesh being destroyed too ok?" he said gently and Ben scowled.

"Yeah but none of you had a complete breakdown." He said bitterly and Jacen nodded.

"No we didn't. But we weren't babies in the Vong War when we were losing a nearly a planet a month which is why you originally cut yourself off. Mom and the others, all of them aside from K'kruhk were raised during the Civil War, they didn't have to feel the death of planets like you did, and even when a planet was destroyed, they were either too old or too untrained to feel it through the Force like you do, like when mom saw Alderaan get destroyed. You're not weak Ben, you just felt more as a kid than they did that's all, than we did. Jaina and I cried for hours when we felt Carida get destroyed, it's natural to feel the effects of a planet being destroyed." He soothed and Ben did look slightly more cheerful as Jacen left him to the dishes.

A while later, Mara frowned as she sorted through the galley (honestly would it kill Han to clear up after himself? Maybe she should get Lumiya to go all Vader on him until he started clearing up after himself, she was sure Lumiya wouldn't object), noticing that the gelmeat had been ransacked, there was only three tubes of the foul stuff left. Strange.

"Ben, have you gone on a gelmeat binge?" she called, figuring she wouldn't give him a hard time, after all he had felt more keenly than the rest of them the destruction of Kesh.

"No, I've not had any since Kesh, I didn't feel like it." He called back, and she frowned, two things to ponder, disappearing gelmeat and Ben not feeling like gelmeat, that wasn't like him, she'd always believed he could endure the torching of the galaxy provided he had gelmeat. Resolving to speak to him later, she went out, determined to find the missing supplies.

Leia was reading the news again, cursing as more and more worlds drifted to restarting brushfire wars. Han was cleaning an old helmet with a nostalgic expression on his face. K'kruhk was writing a message he planned to send when they left hyperspace, while Jaina and Jacen were doing exercises with her hand. Luke was reading over some of the stuff they had taken from Kesh, while Lumiya was trying to persuade Alema to stop doing practice drills with her lightsaber (more for their own sake than hers she had argued, after all, who would notice another wound on the ravaged Twi'lek). She was curious to see that Ben was trying to meditate, which meant something was still bothering him. She exchanged a concerned look with Jacen who shrugged slightly and she nodded, before addressing the room at large.

"Have any of you guys been eating the gelmeat?" she asked, only to be met with shakes of the head.

"Nah, I'm not allowed any." Han grumbled and Leia wrinkled her nose.

"Damn right you aren't." She muttered under her breath, making their kids grin.

"We can't stand the stuff." Jaina said, to her twin's confirming nod.

"And you know I don't like it, and you don't like me not liking it either." Luke said, and she turned to the others.

"Don't look at me, gives me indigestion." K'kruhk said, and Lumiya shook her head as well.

"No, my body doesn't deal with it properly I feel it sitting there for weeks, nasty stuff. Alema, that's right, here girl, follow my voice back from your own fantasy world you mynock shit crazy dancer, yes you, have you had the gelmeat?" she asked, after patiently waiting for Alema to come out of her reverie.

"It's unbalanced, I won't eat the stuff. How did I do?" she asked hopefully, and Lumiya sighed.

"Alright surprisingly, watch your height though you're not defending high enough." She said grudgingly, and Alema nodded.

"She didn't do very well on the _Admiral Ackbar_ either, that's how she lost her lekku." Leia said tartly, and Lumiya turned away from the fuming Dark Jedi before she saw her grin.

"So, if none of you lot ate it..." she began, a suspicion occurring to her.

All of the food had started going missing since Kesh, drinks and cups had vanished too, but she hadn't thought much of it at the time, but...

"Artoo!" Mara yelled and the little droid, who was up front with Threepio keeping an eye on things abandoned his argument with Threepio and trundled through, whistling at her.

"Scan the ship and tell me how many people are on board." She said, and they all looked at her in surprise.

"You think we have a visitor?" K'kruhk asked, and Han looked outraged.

"A stowaway, on my ship?" he demanded making the women roll their eyes.

Artoo hummed to himself and then twittered something at Mara.

"I knew it, we do have a stowaway. Now, if I were a stowaway on board a beat up pile of junk like this where would I hide?" she asked herself as she headed into the corridor, Han scowling after her.

"Hey do I pick on your ship?" he demanded.

"My ship works." Mara muttered under her breath, making Artoo beep in amusement.

Han then followed her into the corridor, with all the others looking in interest as she stood above the smuggling compartments.

"This is where you hid from Vader?" she asked in disbelief, and Han nodded.

"Yeah, why?" he asked, and Lumiya groaned.

"No wonder we lost." She complained, making Jaina grin as Mara prised open the first of the compartments.

"Oh, hello!" Vestara said brightly, waving nervously up at them from the compartment surrounded by empty tubes of gel meat and drink cans.

Ten minutes later, after allowing her to freshen up, Vestara was all but hauled in front of the entire occupancy of the ship.

"Threepio, what am I allowed to do with stowaways?" Han asked menacingly, looking at the girl as if she had done him some great personal wrong.

"Well in your role as captain you reserve the right over all punishments. You may drop her off on the nearest planet, return her to her home though I don't think that would be advisable, drop her off at the next spaceport, or of course allow her to remain on board." Threepio explained, and Han glared at the girl who looked at him impassively, though Ben suspected there was a slight tinge of disdain to her, something Leia must also have picked up on, after all, she wouldn't hesitate to crush him if he went too far.

"I'll admit to being a stowaway, and seeing as Krayt had my planet razed to the ground, you can hardly blame me for escaping the planet, no matter how I did it." She said coolly, and Ben could feel the pain she felt for the loss of her home broiling beneath the surface.

Ben truly looked at the young Sith girl, feeling her emotions that she worked so hard to control. Her anger and bitterness over what had happened to her home, her pain and fear, her ambition and pride in her abilities, her hopes, all of it, all wrapped up in rather an attractive package, one which was virtually the same age as he was. And while she was a Sith she was clearly sassy and knew her own mind, as she refused to be cowed even when surrounded by three very powerful Jedi and her overall superior.

She then caught his eye and he nodded encouragingly to her, and she sent him an appreciative glance in response.

"Why did you come aboard young one? Did you sense what was about to happen?" K'kruhk asked kindly, giving Han a dirty look, she may be a Sith but his attitude wasn't going to help anyone.

Lumiya didn't breathe, if the girl revealed she had 'suggested' that she come aboard it would only lead to all sorts of difficult questions that she didn't need to answer.

Vestara looked at the Whiphid coolly though respectfully.

"My father sought to trap me on Kesh, he didn't want me to grow in power, so he ordered me to stay at home. Just because he and Krayt are fools doesn't mean I need to be." She responded tartly, and Leia and Lumiya grinned.

"The fact is kid, you're not meant to be here, we're busy, so we'll drop you off..." Han began, but Ben shook his head.

"You can't drop her anywhere." He said, and Jacen and Jaina exchanged part amused, part concerned looks as they looked at their cousin.

"Sure I can buddy, she's a Sith." Han said brightly, and Alema pointed to Lumiya.

"You have her on board, and unless we're missing something, this old banger is a lot more dangerous than this pretty little thing." She pointed out quite reasonably, making Lumiya shoot her a dirty look.

Han came up short, and then he shrugged.

"Even so, having one Sith on board is enough."

"Actually, she may be of use to us. The Keshiri texts we have have evolved from the language of the ancient Sith, which means it takes Lumiya and Threepio rather long to translate anything we read in that language." K'kruhk mused, stroking his chin.

"Which also involves myself and mistress Lumiya spending excessive amounts of time with each other which quite frankly isn't good for any of us." Threepio added, and Lumiya had to agree.

"Yes, I might break your droid." Lumiya grumbled.

"Time is of the essence and she may be a great help to us." K'kruhk said.

"We're also on a tight schedule, so we can't drop out and take her to the nearest port, we can hardly abandon her on Ziost, otherwise we might have her becoming a new version of Krayt," Ben argued, and Luke had to admit, it was a fairly good line of reasoning, "and considering they flattened it we can't take her back to Kesh, she has to stay with us." He finished all too brightly, and while some of it was due to triumph at having outwitted his uncle the rest was him being entirely too cheerful about the prospect of the girl staying on board.

Han looked at Ben and then deflated and Leia looked at her husband.

"Look Han, he's right we don't have the time to go dropping her all over the galaxy, and considering what happened to Kesh she only really belongs with the rest of her people and that's far too risky, we'd be walking right into the hands of the Sith. Here at least we can keep an eye on her, and Lumiya can babysit her." She explained and Lumiya nodded.

"Yes, and she has the added benefit of having more of her faculties than Alema does." She pointed out, as Alema stuck her tongue out at her.

"But..." Han protested and Mara sighed.

"I don't like it either Han but we don't have much choice. We're running out of time to stop Abeloth, she might be helpful. But if you want to cut her loose that's up to you." Mara said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, she can stay." He agreed reluctantly and she bowed her head slightly.

"I bow to your 'superior' wisdom." She said cattily, earning her an indulgent look from Lumiya.

"Not to mention her powers are impressive, fair enough we were dealing with the destruction of Kesh but she still managed to stay hidden from our sensors, from Artoo, from seven Jedi, one Dark Jedi and one Sith Lord all without detection, if she's that good we ought to keep an eye on her anyway." Luke whispered to Han as he sagged down into the seat beside him.

"I'm sorry about the destruction of Kesh." Jaina said kindly as Vestara drifted to Lumiya, and Vestara stopped short, a pang of grief blistering across Ben's psyche as well as her own.

She then turned to look at him in confusion, but their exchange was enough that Jacen had noticed.

"Ben?" he asked, and Ben looked at her curiously.

"You felt that?" she asked in response to his look and he nodded slightly.

"Felt what, what's going on?" Mara demanded, as K'kruhk leaned forward to inspect them with professional interest.

Ben and Vestara hadn't said anything, they continued to look at each other, as if they were having a silent conversation between the two of them, and when Jacen tried to have a poke he could feel a fast moving current between the two of them, they were having a silent conversation. That was impossible, Ben couldn't even have a silent conversation with him, let alone some girl he had just met. He probed further, feeling her individually, and Ben, but when he took a step back in his mind's eye, it was as if they shone all the brighter as they talked.

"Ben? What's going on?" Mara asked and Ben was about to answer when a suspicious K'kruhk cuffed Ben on the back of the head.

And both he and Vestara yelped in pain.

"Uh oh." He said as both kids glared at him.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Ben demanded irritably and Vestara narrowed her eyes, as if about to go for her lightsaber.

"Calm child, steady yourself. Even a Sith knows patience. Control your anger, there is no need for it here, he didn't attack you." Lumiya counselled and Vestara stood down while K'kruhk looked at Ben worriedly.

"We have a problem." He said, and Jaina, who had been watching Vestara warily, nodded.

"Yeah we have another bloodthirsty Sith on board." She muttered and Lumiya glared at her.

"She is young and impetuous, don't worry your little head Jaina, I will deal with Vestara. However, K'kruhk is right, as she felt his attack on Ben, we do have a problem." She said, and Han looked at her, and then at the oldest Jedi.

"What sort of problem?" he asked and K'kruhk frowned.

"Somehow, a Force bond has been formed between the two of them, they are now connected through the Force." He explained.

"Like me and Jacen?" Jaina asked in interest, and he nodded.

"In a way yes. The two have been bound together through the Force and are now linked, to the extent to which they feel the pain the other feels, a most powerful bond indeed." He said and Vestara looked at Lumiya.

"You mean I'm bonded with Ben?" she asked, not sounding entirely put out by this fact, and her new master nodded.

"Indeed, and in a powerful way, just as he is bonded with you. As of now, your mind is no longer entirely your own, unless you practice keeping him out. He feels aspects of what you feel and vice versa, such as pain as we've already seen, and your bond could be used to influence the other." She elaborated for the Sith girl.

"Simple, Jacen and I teach them how to block each other like we did." Jaina said, but K'kruhk shook his head.

"There would be little point, you felt you had reason to block Jacen and he wasn't concerned enough to care quite frankly. Besides, their bond is too new, we don't know the full extent of it yet so learning to block it at this point would be rather moot." He explained.

"So Ben's now bonded to Vestara? How did that happen?" Mara demanded, looking less than happy, and she was sure Ben was complaining about her to Vestara and she didn't like it one little bit.

"Most likely when Kesh went boom." Alema said, and the casual way she said it earned her a cuff on her remaining ear from Lumiya.

"Crass though she is, she's probably right. Ben's reaction to the destruction was very powerful, as was Vestara's. During such assaults upon one's senses, it's natural to reach out, but rather than find a friendly mind, they found each other, sensed each other as kindred spirits and hence became bonded. And if that is indeed the way they were bonded, then the bond will be significantly powerful." She said, and Luke nodded.

"She's right Mara, bonds created through traumatic experiences are the most powerful, it'll be very difficult to break the bond." He reasoned, making his wife seethe.

"And also another reason to keep her on board." Jacen said reluctantly, and Han looked in confusion at his son.

"How do you figure that out?" he asked, hoping this would be one part of the conversation he could actually follow.

"Force bonds are very powerful, it's how Luke and I and the kids can sense what's happening to the other even when we're half a galaxy away. Because of how Ben and Vestara's Force bond formed, it means they're connected in a somewhat different way. Their bond is new and created through trauma, unlike ours, so if anything traumatic happens to one, the other will feel it. Say Vestara is killed, there's a chance it could kill Ben too." Leia explained with disdain and Han groaned.

"Alright the kid can stay, but only until we break the bond, we've got enough Sith on board as it is." He said, but Jacen shook his head.

"We don't have time to go looking for ways to break Force bonds, we've got a job to do, and it might actually help them. So we keep it, at least for now." He said, and Mara sighed.

"Do we have to?" Mara asked, looking at Vestara suspiciously.

"We can teach them to keep each other out of their heads, just not block them entirely, otherwise it'll drive them both nuts. We can teach them how to block less than savoury feelings from the other." Lumiya explained, and Jacen looked at her.

"So, you'll train Vestara not to corrupt Ben and I'll teach him not to corrupt her. Deal?" he asked and she nodded.

"Agreed."

Mara and Luke exchanged glances. Say what they will, they had a bad feeling about this, an extra Sith on board was bad enough, an extra Sith who was Force bonded with their son and had also attracted his interest for all the wrong reasons was even worse. This could only end in trouble.

"So she can stay?" Ben asked hopefully, and they all nodded reluctantly.

"Yes she can stay." Luke said and he grinned at Vestara, who grinned back.

"Oh brother." Jaina grumbled and she left the room, followed by a resigned Jacen.

"Come my new apprentice, we have work to do." Lumiya said, beckoning to Vestara who fell into step beside her as the two Sith swept out of the room.

Mara frowned after them, suspicion filling her. No matter what the reasons, she knew in her heart, this wasn't good at all.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Mara said, but K'kruhk just chuckled.

"Is that because your son is now bonded to her, or because he is attracted to her?" he asked, and she glared at him as he chortled and walked off.

In the more appropriate confines of the cargo hold where they were stowing all of the Sith holocrons and other materiel they had gathered for their mission, Lumiya took the only chair while Vestara dropped to her knee in front of her.

"I hope I have not failed you master." Vestara said humbly and Lumiya smiled in malicious delight.

"Failed me? Far from it child, you have done brilliantly. Your ambition and knowledge allowed you to see my true intentions, and you acted accordingly. " She said with cold delight and Vestara grinned.

"Thank you master." She said, and Lumiya smiled, surveying her new protégé.

"And your rebellion against your father was most opportune, it saved your life. I'm sorry for the loss of your world, make no mistake, we will make Krayt pay for his wanton destruction, I promise you this." She said and Vestara raised her eyes, still hurt beneath the anger, to face her new master, and growled.

"I will help you crush him master." She said, and Lumiya smiled indulgently, taking Vestara's cheek gently.

"Indeed you will my dear. Tell me child, have you heard of a Hand?" she asked, and Vestara nodded.

"Yes master, they serve their master's will, carry out the most important missions for them." She said, and Lumiya nodded.

"In essence, correct. That is the role I offer to you my dear. You see, Luke and the others will not allow me to take you as a proper apprentice while we are trapped on this trash heap of a ship. K'kruhk's life was ruined by the Rule of Two and Luke's early life was also dominated by the actions of the Sith. As such, they will not allow me to take on a true apprentice right now. However, the day is rapidly approaching when we will be free of this infernal ship, but until the time is right, we must bide our time. Do you accept?" she asked and Vestara nodded.

"Yes master, I pledge myself to your teachings. Krayt's way leads to cowardice and treachery, why else would he attack Kesh? If your Rule of Two allows me to crush him, so much the better." Vestara spat, and Lumiya mused on this, while the girl was indeed a powerful Sith, her ambition and need for revenge may need to be checked lest they undo her plans.

But for now, she had other plans to further.

"Good. You have done well Vestara, casting off the shackles of your old life. However, you did even better. By creating the bond with Ben, you have given me an invaluable weapon to use against our Jedi foes. Intentionally or not, you have just made our job a lot easier. What think you of our youngest Jedi?" Lumiya purred and noted with savage delight the little blush that appeared on Vestara's cheeks.

"He's...intriguing." Vestara said diplomatically, and Lumiya grinned wickedly.

"Indeed he is my dear. And he is very important to my plans. The Jedi's time is coming to an end, and Ben is an essential piece of the puzzle, he will be the weapon with which I will finally destroy that bloated, corrupt and decadent order before returning the galaxy to the dominion of the Sith. However, as you can see, it will be difficult for me to lure Ben away from the protection of his highly overprotective mother, his very stubborn father, and his arrogant cousin. They, along with Leia, Han and K'kruhk delight in watching my every move in order to try and catch me out. But now, with your help, I can begin to accelerate my plans, if you are willing." Lumiya said, and Vestara looked at her with interest.

"You intend to lure Ben to the dark side?" she asked, and Lumiya nodded.

"Indeed I do. And am I right in saying you would be willing to help in such an endeavour?" she asked with cold delight and Vestara looked excited.

"You mean Ben would become a Sith?" she asked and Lumiya nodded.

"Indeed. My eventual successor, the heir to the legacies of the Sith and the Jedi and the new face of the Sith. Do I have your assistance in this?" she asked coldly, and Vestara hesitated, and Lumiya had to suppress a smile, the girl wouldn't even have to pretend to like Ben, she actually did like him. Excellent.

"Yes master." Vestara said, and Lumiya smiled.

"Good. Now, come with me. We need to evaluate your skills, and if we happen to walk into the view of young Skywalker in the process, I'm sure we can cope." She said maliciously and Vestara smiled as she followed her master.

In the galley, Ben was leaning against the table, musing to himself, not unnoticed by Jacen who was making some tea.

"Well, it's not as if we can get rid of her." Ben muttered and Jacen rolled his eyes.

"Vestara I take it?" h asked and Ben nodded, reddening slightly.

"Yeah, I mean she's going to be around for a while, if nothing else Lumiya will see to that, so..."

"Ben, don't go there." Jacen said tiredly turning to look at his cousin.

Then he wished he hadn't, Ben was shooting him a look that basically could be described as one of betrayal. Jacen cursed inwardly, he knew that more than anything else Ben only wanted people his own age to talk to, and a girl his age was something unheard of. Either the people outside the temple weren't interested or too awestruck by him, and the few actually within the temple that were his age were also either awestruck or intimidated by him and his famous family.

"Look, I know she's a Sith, but is it a mortal sin to even talk to her? Or do you really want Lumiya and Alema being the only one she talks to?" he challenged and Jacen sighed and softened his expression.

"Look Ben, I'm not saying don't talk to her, I'm not even saying don't get to know her, but remember she's a Sith. She can't be trusted, your parents certainly won't trust her, she's already been taken on as Lumiya's apprentice which makes both of them even more dangerous to us and what's more, she's bound to you now which makes her very dangerous to you as well." He said, and Ben scowled.

"It's not as if I bonded to her on purpose." He snapped and Jacen sighed.

"I know you never, I never said you did. I'm just saying watch your step with Vestara. Your bond makes you both susceptible." He explained, and Ben sagged slightly.

"Yeah I know it might draw me to the dark side, but doesn't it also apply to her?" he asked miserably, and Jacen grinned slightly.

"Oh no, you truly are your father's son." He said in amusement, and Ben looked at him in confusion.

"I can't tell if you're insulting me or not." He said suspiciously and Jacen shrugged.

"Depends on your point of view. You're getting a cause, just like your dad, he always believed he could redeem people, Vader, C'Baoth, your mom kind of. Now you reckon you can fix Vestara." He said and Ben avoided his gaze.

"Could it work?" he asked softly, and Jacen frowned.

"I'll not insult you and ask if this is purely academic. I don't see any reason it wouldn't but remember the dark side is more seductive than the light, and your dad would shit on me from a great height if you so much as sneeze dark. Ben, look, I know there's more going on here than you pair being bonded through the Force. But be careful, she's a Sith, she's treacherous and she'll be working for Lumiya so just be careful ok. I don't want you getting hurt." He said softly, and Ben looked at him in surprise.

"But you're not telling me to stay well away from her?" he asked in shock, and Jacen shook his head.

"Unlike your parents, I'm a realist, even if you wanted to, which I doubt you do, you still wouldn't be able to stay away from her especially since now you're bonded through the Force. Just be careful ok?" he said, ruffling Ben's hair, smiling as Ben protested.

But as he and Ben entered the main hold to see K'kruhk instructing Vestara in saber techniques in training underclothes, he could basically hear Ben's carefulness flying out the window.

Teenagers.

But as he saw Ben grin slightly appreciatively at what he could see as Vestara trained, he also saw Lumiya taking careful note of Ben's gaze, and the slight glance Vestara sent Ben out of the corner of her eye. So while he wasn't going to outwardly stop Ben and Vestara doing anything (that's what Luke and Mara were for) he would certainly keep an eye on the young Force users. And on Lumiya.

XX

"I don't like it." Mara muttered darkly as she watched Ben, Vestara and Jaina talking together.

"Well give her a break, she tried her best, she's hardly got all her faculties. I thought she did pretty well, despite the fact she burned it, put oatmeal in instead of onions and didn't cook the chicken properly." Luke said as he read the news, and Mara scowled.

"I'm not talking about Alema's dinner, I'm talking about Vestara." She grumbled and Luke sighed.

"Mara what do you want us to do? She's bound to him in a Force bond, which means wherever she is she's a potential danger to him if something happens to her. We can't leave her anywhere, and like K'kruhk said, she might be useful." He said mildly, and she scowled at him.

"Luke, don't you see where this could lead?" she demanded and he nodded.

"Of course I do, it's been a few eons but I still remember what it's like to be young and check someone out, I'm not blind they've been doing it all day. There's not much we can do if they like each other. I don't trust her, of course I don't I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her, but we can't dictate Ben's life, I think that's part of the reason we drifted apart, we had a set idea of what we wanted him to do and Jacen didn't follow it, so we pushed the two of them away." He explained, and she was about to concede when she turned to shoot him an icy look.

"You mean you pushed them away." She said tartly and he rolled his eyes before going back to reading the news.

Mara sighed as she watched Jaina get up to go and distract Lumiya, who was playing dejarik with K'kruhk, yet her ever watchful eyes were keeping an eye on the two youngest party members.

"I just don't like this Luke, the last thing we need is Ben fancying a Sith." She said and Luke nodded.

"I agree. But we're jumping the gun here honey, they've not even done anything yet. But, I wonder..." Luke said, a small smile on his face.

"Wonder what?"

"Well, are you so bothered by Vestara because she's a Sith, or because she's a girl his age that he likes?"

She didn't deign to respond to that one and flounced off to irritate Han, the abused always kicked downwards.

"Are you doing alright?" Ben asked Vestara gently, and she looked at him in confusion.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, bewildered and he shrugged.

"Well your world was just annihilated, I thought you might want to talk about it." He said, catching her short.

Vestara looked at him oddly. It wasn't as it was on Kesh, well, had been before Krayt had destroyed the planet. There, the only people to care what was going on in her head had been her parents, her mother more so than her father. But here he was, actually caring about her well being just because he could, rather than having an agenda. It was quite strange.

"I'm coping." She said, and Ben looked at her earnestly.

"Look I know you Sith aren't ones to dwell on things like that, but if you want to talk, I'll listen. Sith or not, your world was just destroyed." He said, and she looked at him curiously.

"And how would you know how to help? Your world has never been destroyed." She pointed out, and he shrugged.

"Maybe not, but I felt it just as keenly as you did." He said mildly, and she nodded.

"True, but you can't associate it with what happened, not really. The Glass Gardens being turned into slag, my home being wiped off the face of the galaxy, the temple reduced to rubble, you can feel the emotions of it, but you can't associate with them. You felt a world die Ben, I felt _my _world die." She said and he nodded.

"I know. If you want to talk, I'll listen." He said, and made to get up, but she took a hold of his wrist, stopping him from doing so.

"Perhaps not about Kesh, perhaps you could tell me about the galaxy? After all, I've never left Kesh before this, and I can't really go back now can I?" she asked softly and he grinned.

And as the two apprentices began to talk, they were under ever watchful eyes of parents, masters and Sith.

XX

The _Falcon_ dropped out of lightspeed, and Han, who had been showing Vestara the basics of space flight (if for no other reason than to get Lumiya to stop nagging him) looked up at the newest world where they would be looking for more clues on how to defeat Abeloth.

"Not much to look at is it kid?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Perhaps not, but it has special importance for the Sith. Our former capital." She explained, as Lumiya entered.

"She's right. The dark side isn't as diluted here as it is on Korriban, which has been watered down by millennia of mistreatment, looting and Jedi intruders. Ziost has no such problems, well not as many anyway." She explained, taking the navigation chair.

"You expect this Dreypa dude is still around like Andeddu was?" Han asked, and she frowned thoughtfully.

"By all accounts he shouldn't be, after all he died on Kesh if anywhere he ought to be there, but that doesn't mean we can't rule it out. The dark side is strong here however, and he is ancient Sith. The Massassi could have left any number of traps for the unwary or the unprepared. Fortunately we are neither." She said, and Han gave her a grimace.

"Does that mean there's a silooth waiting for us down there?" he asked, and she held up a finger to silence him.

"And a silooth is Vestara?"

Vestara smiled, eager to impress her new master with her knowledge.

"A beetle, mutated and warped by Sith alchemy, usually by the ancient Sith Lords. They were a particular favourite of XoXaan, who would use silooths of all shapes and sizes in order to assassinate her opponents in her quest for greater power. They were used to great effect during the Battle of Kalsunor, a planet which resisted Sith advances for some years. Under the leadership of Sorzus Syn they were released a plague and easily conquered as a result." She explained and Lumiya nodded in approval.

"Well done. As to you Han, perhaps, however as he used them on Kesh we'd be much more likely to encounter a Leviathan." Lumiya said grimly and Han groaned, remembering the tales Kyp had told him of encountering that particular Sith monster.

An hour later, the ship had landed, and relying on the best guesses of K'kruhk, they ventured away from the ship towards where they believed the mausoleum to be located. Ziost was a dim, arid and cold world, with little life, little trees, little of anything except a dark side presence that was always in the background, and it was all they could feel as they progressed through the arid landscape, their feet leaving imprints in the ice and snow.

Jacen frowned as they moved through the frigid planet. The dark side was deep and thick here, he could feel that much, but it wasn't causing the same malaise in him as the visit to the Home had. Nevertheless, he still kept close to Ben to keep an eye on him, there was something not right about this world. He could feel it, like eyes, watching them, and it was beginning to make him uneasy.

"Keep up Han." K'kruhk chided, and Han scowled.

"Easy for you to say, we're freezing." He grumbled, and Jaina grinned.

"Use the Force." She teased and he glared at her.

"Funny." Han retorted as K'kruhk chuckled.

Alema suddenly stopped, bringing the entire party to a stop as they traversed the arid, frozen wasteland.

"Alema?" Luke asked, and she tensed.

"Oh she's not going to sing again is she?" Jaina hissed, having been woken up at some early hour by Alema deciding to sing an opera piece.

"Shh, listen." She said, and using the Force they expanded their awareness, and Ben heard it first.

"Animals of some sort?" he asked, and Mara looked at Lumiya.

"Anything you can think of that can make that noise?" she asked, and the Sith shook her head.

"Not really...wait, look, the stones are vibrating." She said, and the braying was growing to such a level that Han could hear it.

It then clicked in Jacen's head exactly what was going on.

"We need to move now!" he yelled and the group of them made for a clump of desolate trees as the ground began to shake and pound beneath their feet.

"A stampede? Something much have set whatever they are off, otherwise we just have really bad luck!" Jaina cursed, leaping into one of the sets of branches beside K'kruhk, who was looking at the rising cloud of dust that was fast approaching with interest.

"Jaina's right. I can sense them, they're frightened, running from something that brings them pain." Jacen said, and Leia looked at him in surprise.

"I thought your connection with animals was long gone." She said, helping Han onto a branch out of the way.

He shrugged, his eyes drawn to the approaching stampede.

"Some of it's come back, I still mostly see voxyn though." He said with disgust, and his mother shot her son's back a sad look as Alema with some difficulty made it into the tree and settled in for the stampede to pass.

"Did we do it when we landed? We might have spooked them." Ben theorised, but Vestara shook her head.

"Unlikely, we've been travelling for the better part of an hour since we landed. Unless they're very slow, I doubt it's them, and if they were that slow they probably would have stopped running by now." She reasoned and Luke had to admit, the girl had a point.

"Pirates perhaps, they've been known to frequent Ziost." K'kruhk mused as the tree began to shake with the approaching beasts impacts on the ground.

Lumiya however was not quite so benign. She had made sure that no pirates dared come here, she had led her fleet in a bloody annihilation of a large local pirate group, and she frequently patrolled against any such return, she didn't want one of the last dark side planets corrupted by incompetent raiders and louts. No, there were no pirates here. However that didn't mean there couldn't be others. She could see Vestara looking at her curiously, wishing to ask, but she discreetly shook her head, promising to answer it later. Before she could do anything however the braying was far too close and she looked up in time to see the first of the animals hurtle over the incline.

Large and furry creatures, all of them, hurtling over the incline at great speed, braying anxiously as they did so, their tusks green around the edges. Their tree shook violently, several smaller branches fell off as a result of the shaking as the massive herd blazed past, braying at the top of their lungs, their heavy feet trampling Ziost as they made their panicked way away from whatever it was that had spooked them. The group held on for dear life as the massive herd thundered past, and K'kruhk quickly stooped to catch Mara when her branch started to fall, leaving her dangling in his hands as the last few creatures thundered past, totally oblivious to their spectators.

"What were they?" Jaina asked in shock as the quaking started to wind down.

"War behemoths, I thought they were extinct." Vestara said, landing catlike on the ground and Lumiya nodded.

"You're right, I didn't expect an entire herd of them to still exist, I thought they'd died out or been hunted into extinction long ago. Apparently not." She said musingly, and Luke landed beside her.

"What could have set them off?" he asked curiously and she frowned.

"Hard to say, they were bred as war beasts, to break down the walls of citadels. Very little should spook them." She said, and Leia shrugged.

"Regardless, they've gone and we've wasted enough time. Let's go." She said, taking charge and the group once more assumed their path towards the mausoleum of Dreypa.

"Master?" Vestara asked, looking for an answer to her unasked question.

"I don't know Vestara, there is a possibility that Krayt or even Vol have forces here and are trying to undo us, but there's no way we can be sure. Do you sense any of your people?" she asked and the girl shook her head.

"No master. I do think we're being watched, and by something clever enough to start a stampede of war behemoths." She whispered and Lumiya nodded.

"Indeed we are. Let's keep this to ourselves, even from Alema, all we need is for her to have an episode and spill the magic beans." She cursed and Vestara nodded.

The group continued on its way, all of them chatting in low voices as they progressed. Something was definitely watching them, and it was making all of them uneasy. K'kruhk searched through the Force, trying to divine the source of their discomfort, but nothing was to be found, all he found was many sets of eyes watching them as they progressed.

"We had best be cautious." He said, and Luke nodded.

"Agreed. Something set those behemoths off, and look at the trees." He said, pointing and the Whiphid saw what he was pointing at, many branches in the briar patch they were now climbing through had been broken off, all of them much too cleanly to be caused by animals.

"Someone else is definitely here." The older Jedi muttered and Luke nodded.

"Yeah, and they're up to something too. I think they want us going on this direction." He said, pointing at Jaina to stop her before she left the patch.

"We're being watched." Mara hissed, beginning to feel the oppressive eyes watching her back.

"Indeed we are. Caution is the best defence now." K'kruhk said, reading his lightsaber.

"Master?" Vestara asked hesitantly, and Lumiya nodded.

"They're right child, we are being watched. But there's a stain in this area, pain..."

"Death." Leia finished, having felt the same thing on Tatooine many years before, at the sight of her father's massacre of a camp of Tusken Raiders.

"So what are we looking at?" Han asked, readying his blaster.

"Bodies." Ben whispered, peering through the briar patch.

"What?" Jacen asked, peering through himself.

"They're all dead. Whoever was watching us are dead, recently too." Ben said, pointing to the entrance to the mausoleum, and K'kruhk gingerly led the way forward, saber ready.

There were indeed bodies, around twelve of them, which also included the smashed up remains of an astromech droid. K'kruhk bent down to inspect them while the others formed a protective circle around them, all of them edgy and wary, alert for anything.

"Strange. All have indeed been killed recently, but not by blasters or lightsabers or anything else. In fact, the weapons used to kill them appear almost primitive." K'kruhk mused in a low voice, looking around at the dead bodies.

A Bothan was among the dead, as was a Rodian and a Chev. A further Klatoonian body was near them, as were four more human bodies, all apparently from the same group as all of them had an identical insignia on their flight suits. Lumiya bent down, inspecting the corpses, as did Luke, while the others looked around nervously.

"He's right, spears or something, maybe arrows were used to kill these people, nothing too extravagant. What could have killed them, there's no native species to Ziost?" Luke asked, and K'kruhk nodded.

"Correct. But look, perhaps a conflict?" he asked, pointing to the other two bodies beside the smashed up droid, and Jaina had to look away from where he was pointing, one of the dead was a young girl of around eight, her chest pierced and red with blood.

"Eight of these guys against the two of them, and the droid?" Alema asked, crouching down to inspect the broken droid, and joined by Jaina to take her eyes off the dead girl.

"Maybe, but look, this two and the droid were dealt with the same way as these guys were, the guy and the girl were killed by weapons, look at the gash in his forehead. Her father do you think?" Leia asked, her voice thick and Mara nodded grimly.

"Looks like it doesn't it? But why would that eight attack a guy and his daughter, and why would they even be on Ziost in the first place?" she asked, and Alema picked up a broken leg of the droid.

"The droid was smashed by sheer brute force, someone much stronger than a robot flattened it." She said, waving the leg around airily, and Jaina nodded.

"Alema's right about that. The droid didn't stand a chance. And judging by the fact that only the Bothan had his weapon drawn, they were ambushed by whatever killed them." She reasoned, and Luke nodded.

"You're right. But who killed them, why, and where are they now? The bodies are still warm, they can't have been dead more than an hour, if that." He said, standing upright and looking around nervously, the dark side was affecting his senses, he couldn't sense anything out there but that didn't mean it wasn't there.

Lumiya cursed as she surveyed the dead Bothan.

"This lot are pirates, the Bothan's name is Byalfin Dyur, I remember the crest. I've had dealings with them in the past, they operate a BFF bulk freighter going by the name of _Boneyard Rendezvous_. Not much of a threat, all they had was that ship and a couple of TIE fighters, but they still screwed me over once. Can't say he didn't have it coming." She sneered, looking triumphantly down at his body. The Sith always had their revenge.

"Pirates, what were they doing here?" Jacen asked, as they had all turned to look at her curiously.

"No idea, but I sent them here a few years ago to retrieve an amulet for me, the Amulet of Kalara. However he backstabbed me and kept it for himself, and with the Dark Nest crisis I had other things to worry about and I didn't have the resources to get revenge against him. And now he's here, and not long dead either. Lucky for him in a way, I'd have done it myself." She grumbled, and Luke frowned.

"Alright, putting aside the fact that you were looking for what's most likely a powerful Sith artefact," he said, making Lumiya and Vestara roll their eyes, "what would pirates have against this guy and his kid and droid? I mean, pirates usually aren't pleasant, but why kill them?" he asked, and Han shrugged.

"Maybe they were staying here, using it as a base, and the bloke happened across them so they killed him." He theorised, but Lumiya shook her head.

"I doubt it. The man's name is Faskus, a courier. It was he who had the amulet originally, he found it and it was through his attempts to sell it that I discovered it, it raised one of my flags. Dyur and his crew stole the amulet from him and ever since he's been trying to get it back. Perhaps they were about to have a confrontation when death changed the equation." She mused, and Mara scowled.

"So it's your fault they're dead." She growled.

"Perhaps, Dyur would have died anyway had I come across him when we were here but other than him being in possession of a Sith amulet I had no problem with the courier, I was quite content to leave him to his own devices, Dyur was the one who brought him into this."

Before anyone could say anything else, Leia frowned.

"Alright, that kind of explains the stand off position, but it doesn't explain why they're all dead, and all of them dead without the use of any modern weapons." She said.

"Agreed. Something else killed these men. Lumiya, you say this poor chap was a courier, and they were pilots. So, I am wondering, where is the ship?" he asked, and Jacen got out his comm.

"Artoo, scan the area for any ships." He ordered, receiving a beep in confirmation.

Vestara was interfering with one of the pirate's bodies, and Mara was about to tell her to have some respect for the dead when she pulled a small disc from the wound, lifting it up to give to her master.

"Master." She said, handing Lumiya the disc, and she, K'kruhk and Luke studied the weapon and K'kruhk then looked at the apprentice quizzically.

"A lanvarok?" he asked in astonishment and she nodded.

"Seems to be. Whoever killed this lot were strong and primitive, and using an ancient Sith weapon." She explained and K'kruhk frowned.

"It's impossible." He said, knowing where the evidence was beginning to point, and Luke shrugged.

"Not necessarily, I encountered one after the Battle of Yavin." He said, but K'kruhk shook his head.

"That one would only be four thousand years old, and would have been altered by Exar Kun's alchemy, this one would be close to double that age." K'kruhk said, and Mara shrugged, catching on to what they were talking about.

"Stranger things have happened, look what happened to Jaden with that old Sith ship." She pointed out, and Han sighed.

"Look you guys may be up with all this but what the hell are you guys talking about?" he asked, and Luke indicated the bodies.

"They were killed by primitive Sith weapons. We're outside a Sith mausoleum on a Sith world, and considering the surprises Andeddu had, we're wondering if it was Massassi that killed these people." He explained, and Ben looked at them curiously.

"The ones who built the temples on Yavin?" he asked, and Jacen shook his head.

"Not quite. They were the actual Massassi, but they became a subspecies when Exar Kun started messing around with alchemy and altering them. This lot are the ancient Sith people, the ones who the Dark Lords conquered and turned into their empire." He explained and Ben nodded, before looking around, his voice edgy.

"You feel that?" he asked nervously, and Mara nodded.

"Yeah, they're getting ready to attack, they're surrounding us. A lot of them too. They don't feel that primitive. But there's something else, like a presence skirting the edge of our awareness." She said, and Alema nodded, about to light her saber but desisting when Lumiya glared at her warningly.

"There's a mind." She said with certainty, and Jaina looked at her sceptically.

"A mind? Someone controlling them? I thought only a Sith could do that." She said, but to her surprise it was Jacen who shook his head.

"Not necessarily, after all they managed perfectly well before the Exiles arrived and proclaimed themselves Dark Lords. You know anything Vestara?" he asked, and she frowned thoughtfully.

"Perhaps a priest? A member of the Kissai caste, they would basically act as shamans and spiritual guides, making them equal to the clan chief." She theorised and Han nodded.

"Like Ewoks." He said, and Leia smiled slightly.

"Not nearly as cute, and a hell of a lot deadlier by the looks of things." She said as the group started edging towards the door to the mausoleum.

"Tell that to the troops we lost at Endor." Lumiya said and Mara grinned slightly.

"They're approaching. Options?" Jaina asked.

"Into the temple. Where the hell are those ships? Artoo?" Jacen asked into his comm and the droid whistled back in response.

"What do you mean they're still here?" Jacen asked incredulously, there wasn't a sign of a ship in sight.

Luke stretched out with his feelings, feeling a cluster of minds, and reached out, finding the crux and applying the Force, shattering an illusion that had hidden the pirate's freighter and the courier's YT-2400 from them. As they saw the ships, they finally got their first glance at the Massassi, massive hulking brutes with red skin, ancient weapons and evil yellow eyes. And they were inside the cockpits of each ship, glaring out at them, and even turning the ships weapons onto them.

"How the hell can creatures about seven thousand years old work modern ships?" Han demanded, prepared to raise his blaster.

"They've adapted, learned. They encountered a problem and solved it. Look at them, they're working the ship." K'kruhk said in amazement, and Jaina hissed.

"Look I appreciate clever primitives as much as the next chick but these oh so clever aliens are pointing their sodding ship's weapons at us." She hissed, and Vestara, who was now back to back with Ben and prepared to raise her lightsaber at any minute, cast her eyes around the edge of the clearing that marked the entrance to the mausoleum.

"They're coming at us from all directions. And the mind, the mind is inside the mausoleum. And that's not all." She said, feeling a vast swarm descend within the temple, heading for the group.

"What are they?" Ben asked, sensing the same thing.

"If I were a betting chap, I would wager pincer bugs. This lot don't want us here, they sent the stampede, the Massassi, wherever they came from came active due to our presence here and now they want to wipe us out. I think we might be in trouble." K'kruhk said, and Han couldn't agree more, as several more heavily armed Massassi all started hulking out of the trees, just as the ships swivelled their weapons to face them, and the chittering sound of the pincerbugs filled their ears.

"Suggestions?" Alema asked, and Leia felt it a second before it happened.

"Duck!" she yelled as the Massassi fired lasers from both the ships, impacting right above them.

As heat broiled all over them, Luke quickly took the initiative, leaping towards the ships as the Massassi fired another blast at him. Jacen was a second behind him, heading for the courier ship while Luke went for the pirate ship, leaving the rest to deal with the attacking Massassi and pincer bugs.

Jaina and Alema turned as one to deal with the massive swarm of pincer bugs, but before Jaina could even do anything, Vestara shoved her back.

"I'll deal with this, you tackle the Massassi." She said, and Jaina looked at the Sith girl sceptically.

"You think you can take all those blasted bugs?" she asked as the din of battle raged behind her.

"Yes." She said, and simply raised her hands, her lightsaber at her waist.

Turning away from the Sith girl, Jaina barey blocked as a Massassi leapt from on high, his poleaxe going right for her neck. Blocking the attack she realised the entire group was already outnumbered. Mara and Han were alternating their attacks, trying to keep the charging Massassi at bay but to little avail they had only succeeded in bringing down two of them. Leia and K'kruhk were forming a wall of defence, deflecting lanvarok discs with their lightsabers while alternating between fighting off Massassi at the front. Lumiya's whip forced her further out than the others, but despite her attempts to calm them down by speaking Sith and her attacks the Massassi were unstoppable. Alema had leapt to the top of the archway and was using her blow dart, but all it seemed to be doing was annoying the Massassi who were now actually climbing up to take her down. Meanwhile Luke and Jacen were leaping around the clearing, darting from place to place as the Massassi blasted away with the cannons on each ship. Jacen then flipped into the air, trying to come at the ship from above, but as he landed right in front of the ramp, he was suddenly swarmed by lethal and angry Massassi. Luke had little extra luck, while he wasn't swarmed by Massassi as soon as he reached the ramp the ship shunted itself off the ground, floating just above them and giving them more height with which to further blast at them, laser cannons still pounding.

Vestara gathered her power and unleashed a vicious torrent of Force lightning, making Lumiya look around curiously to see as her newest pupil fried the massive swarm of pincer bugs without any assistance whatsoever. Satisfied that Vestara was indeed as powerful and as useful as she had been led to believe, she cracked her whip, forcing the oncoming Massassi back before flipping out of the way of a hail of spears as the brutes pushed forward.

"There's so many, they aren't stopping and we can hardly kill them!" Leia grunted, chopping another disc from the sky.

Since the fight had began, they had killed only four Massassi, and one of them had been a fluke. Large, red and hulking, the beasts were taller even than K'kruhk, covered in thick red spines. Made almost entirely of muscle, they had evil yellow eyed and sharp fangs, and despite their primitive weapons they were more than adequate to kill any of them. Alema was now surrounded and making panicked noises when Ben leapt up to join her, plunging his saber into the back of one of the Massassi and helping her fend the others off.

"Alema, do you sense the mind controlling them?" he asked and she nodded, nodding towards the top of the temple.

"It's up there, that's where I was going when I got swarmed, he must have changed something because I could sense him. Hurry!" she said, twirling through the air like a dancer to try and take the head off another Massassi.

Jacen was surrounded, and he'd been scraped by a couple of the spears and he was now being pushed back by the group he was fighting. Luke was still trying to stop the ship while deflecting the attacks coming from the lanvaroks. The others were all being more and more boxed in, and while they no longer had to deal with the pincerbugs they were still close to being overwhelmed by the sheer belligerence of the Massassi.

Ben leapt up another level, and finally saw the Massassi who was directing all this, clad in a blue cloak, clearly focused on the battle at hand. Ben landed behind him and grinned slightly, he wasn't nearly as big or bulky as the warriors, he was about the same height as Jacen and about as well built too. Ben lunged for the Massassi with his lightsaber but suddenly a tendril of darkness coiled around each wrist and ankle, freezing Ben in place, allowing the Massassi priest to turn to face him, his fangs bared in annoyance. Ben struggled but was unable to move, and the priest moved closer, wicked looking nails raised to deal Ben a deadly blow. Ben looked down to see where his father was about to be blasted by the pirate ship, where Jacen was surrounded and about to be killed by the warriors, and something within him snapped. The others were in just as much danger. Ben closed his eyes, drawing on the Force as he did so, feeling it build within him. In the back of his mind he could feel Vestara stumble, throw her hand up against the wall to steady herself, making a concerned looking Jaina adapt to protect the girl. However, Ben was now immersed in the Force and as he opened his eyes, the Massassi hesitated and with a great heave of effort, Ben broke the dark side tendrils and blasted the priest with a massive Force push, blowing him off the top of the mausoleum. As he sagged to the ground in exhaustion, Ben watched as the priest slammed into the ground, the impact clearly breaking his neck.

And with that, the attack stopped, the Massassi seemed to come to a stop, looking to where their commander had met his demise. And with that, there was then a great warbling and all of them looked to where a massive hulking Massassi come out of the bushes. Luke's jaw dropped in astonishment, recognising the Massassi as the one he had fought with all those years ago, Kalgrath. He gestured towards the pirate ship, and with a great grunt the various Massassi abandoned their killing strokes and headed for the ramp of the pirate ship, which had dropped slightly to accommodate them as they made their way to it. Kalgrath growled at Luke in recognition, slightly inclining his head and he then brought up the rear, climbing up the ramp of the ship. And then, with the astounded group looking on, the two ships shot for space, bearing the Massassi, originally thought to be stupid primitives, to a much wider galaxy.

"Well, didn't see that one coming." Han said, Jacen darting out of sight as he went to retrieve Ben.

"You ok Vestara?" Jaina asked kindly, and the girl nodded weakly.

"Just a little drained." She replied and Mara nodded.

"I'm not surprised, Ben tapped in to your power too, to do whatever he did." She said, wincing as Alema mistimed her jump and fell to the ground in front of them with a heavy thump.

"Ancient Massassi, active in the galaxy after all this time, it's incredible." K'kruhk said in awe, and Lumiya nodded.

"Not only have they learned to survive, they've also learnt self sufficiency, problem solving and are now cruising round the galaxy. But it also leaves a set of problems." Lumiya said, vowing to alert Admiral Wethen and have him hunt down the Massassi so they could get their hands on them before the Jedi tried to kill them.

Luke frowned as Jacen helped Ben down from the top of the temple. While he was very proud of Ben for doing what he had done, effectively saving them all from a group of pissed off Massassi, he could have killed Vestara while doing it. While he wouldn't be against getting rid of the girl, he didn't want her dead, he just wanted to leave her somewhere, but he knew full well that there were too many reasons to keep her around, a nagging Lumiya and a hormonal Ben not being the least of them. However, there was also no denying that Vestara had also earned her stripes, destroying the pincerbugs before they could pose a threat, after all she was the only one among them who could have killed them all at once. Deciding to keep his peace, he headed over to the others, where Han was leaning against the door of the temple.

"I got to tell you, I'm getting too old for this crap." He complained, making Leia smile.

"I did tell you we were. Right, I'm assuming since this Dreypa dude had Massassi guarding his tomb, he had no need for the rest of the delights like shyracks, tukata and the other crap?" she asked and Vestara shrugged.

"Possibly. I'm more intrigued where the Massassi came from." She said, and Jacen, who had supported Ben against the wall similar to how Jaina had supported her, frowned thoughtfully.

"You know, I don't think they were that mad with us. I think it was their last victims they were mad at, they disturbed the mausoleum I reckon and we just got the fallout from their mistake." He said, and K'kruhk looked at him curiously.

"What makes you think that?" he asked and Jacen pointed to the mausoleum.

"The fact that they upped and left, I reckon the pirates just disturbed them. Without the sorcerer around to lead them anymore, they were free to go off and do their own thing, they might have realised they weren't protecting anything since he wasn't buried here." He reasoned, and Han nodded, it seemed to make sense.

"Alright, we've wasted enough time. Are you two alright to go?" Mara asked, and both of them nodded.

"Yeah, just a little tired." Vestara said, and with that the group ventured into the dark mausoleum.

"And you're sure she killed all the bugs?" Han mumbled as he practically had to drag Alema into the darkened mausoleum.

"Hey, Ves?" Ben asked and she turned to face him, unused to her name being shortened.

"I've not been called that before." She said and he went slightly red.

"Sorry, it's just your name is a bit of a mouthful and-"

She held up her hand, stopping his nervous rambling in its tracks.

"no, it's alright, I'm just not used to it that's all." She said and he grinned, falling into step beside her.

"Sorry I drained so much from you, I didn't mean to weaken you like that." He said, and she shrugged.

"It was instinct, and it worked, you saved us from the Massassi, I think I can handle being slightly tired if it means we get to survive another day." She said, and he looked at her curiously.

"How are you doing?" he asked gently, and she was once again struck by his seemingly genuine concern for her, such a strange thing. She thought Lumiya cared for her in her own way but not like this.

"I'm fine thank you, just tired from the fight. You battle well, I was watching." She said and he grinned proudly.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." He said and the two began a contest of one upmanship to see who was better in the fight, making Jacen role his eyes.

"Massassi alive and well today, it's inconceivable." K'kruhk said, and Mara, holding the glowrod, frowned.

"Yeah, but here's a question. Where did they come from? Where they in here and get set loose, did the temple open? Or were they outside all along?" she asked, and Lumiya shook her head sceptically.

"Unlikely. If there was a settlement of Massassi here, they most likely would have been found long ago, remember Hands like us came here every so often, Vader came here a few times, I've been myself a lot over the years, not to mention the local pirates. No, I reckon they were disturbed, the temple opened for some reason and they spilled out." She said, and Jaina, who was walking beside them, agreed.

"Makes sense. Something wakes them up maybe, and after napping for seven thousand years they're seriously grumpy and in dire need of some caf. The pirates and the courier are the first people they see and blame them for opening the temple, so the priest dude Ben killed sets them on him, thinking they're trying to disturb the mausoleum." She reasoned, and they had to admit, it was a good theory.

"Still doesn't explain how they stayed alive for seven thousand years, or where Kalgrath, the big one who led them off, the one from Yavin came from." Luke pointed out, and K'kruhk scowled in irritation.

"This is all so confusing. All of this is uncertainty is getting most annoying. We have to hurry, there's no telling how much damage Abeloth will be able to do if we don't get some more information on her soon." K'kruhk said, leading the way deeper into the heart of the darkened mausoleum.

"Paranoid isn't he?" Alema asked airily as they followed him further into the mausoleum.

Reaching a large stone door, K'kruhk came to a stop, pondering the door thoughtfully.

"Typical, bloody Sith can't design a temple to save themselves, how do you open the silly thing?" he asked, and as he reached out, Alema reached out a hand.

"No, don't." She said, and he turned to look at her.

"Why not?" he asked irritably, and she shook her head.

"There's darkness in there." She said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Of course there is, it's a Sith tomb and there's no lights." He said irritably, unwilling to be dragged into a conversation with the less than sane Dark Jedi.

"No, a proper darkness, a life force." She said irritably, and exasperated, K'kruhk turned to the others.

"do any of you sense anything?" he asked, and Ben nodded.

"Yes, annoyance." He said with a grin and the Whiphid glowered at him.

Luke and Lumiya both closed their eyes, trying to sense behind the doors, and Jacen reached out, trying to get a feel for the room beyond.

"I don't sense anything." Luke said flatly, and Lumiya shook her head negatively as well.

"There is a residue, but I can't get anything more than that. It's probably nothing more than that Alema." He said kindly, and she hissed in vexation.

"Fine, but when you come out looking like me, don't come crying to me." She grumbled bitterly, and Mara leaned close to Leia.

"She does realise we're not Twi'leks right?" she asked in a low voice and Leia shrugged.

"Who can tell anymore?"

Annoyed, K'kruhk then used the Force to pull open the doors, and contrary to their expectations, they entered a well lit room. Mounds of gold, silver and jewels lined the walls, glittering in the torchlight. Statues, ancient lightsabers and other ancient weapons, all of them beautifully adorned, were stored across the room. Furthermore, there were books and scrolls, all of them in pristine condition all stacked around the sarcophagus.

"Whoa..." Han said, reaching to touch a ruby, but Leia slapped his hand.

"Don't touch anything." She warned, pointing her finger at his face, and as she turned away he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Look at all this stuff, why do they need it if they're dead?" Ben asked in disbelief.

"It was an ancient Sith practice, the slaves would put all of their stored wealth in the tomb with them should they need it in the netherworld, as a mark to their testament and power. And also to prevent any of their rivals getting their hands on it." Vestara explained, and Lumiya nodded.

"Quite. Sith were always focused on material possessions and grand tombs in those days, something that experienced a revival during the Sith Wars a thousand years ago." She further elaborated.

"Until that is Bane killed them all. While he still had wealth and possessions, he used them for the good of the Sith and to keep his cover rather than for the sake of having them." K'kruhk continued, peering in interest at the books that lined the shelves.

"A trait that will continue, provided I deal with that usurper Krayt, he will bankrupt the Sith." Lumiya growled in distaste, and Vestara's hand flexed in annoyance at the mention of the Sith who wiped out her planet.

"How come they get to touch things?" Han asked petulantly, and Jaina, who was studying an ancient lightsaber, smiled at her father.

"Because they don't have a habit of breaking things like you do." She said evilly, and he glowered at his daughter.

"Pish. You know that they'll say to me? They'll say 'how did you spend your mid life crisis Han?' And rather than the usual answers, affair, new ship, hair dye, I'll get to say 'I got to go around the tombs of the ancient Sith'." He said and she grinned mischievously.

"I think mid life crisis is a bit generous dad." She said, and he looked at her with a less than impressed expression as she shook with silent mirth.

"You may be a Jedi, but can you walk home to Coruscant?" he asked sweetly, but it did nothing to deter her as she continued to laugh silently.

"Hey look at this." Jacen called from an antechamber, and Jaina, more to escape her father's ire filled glare more than anything else, headed over.

"What's up bro?" she asked and he pointed.

Stasis tubes, all smashed as though from the outside, the glass littering the floor. The walls of the room were lined with large stasis tubes, numbering enough to have hosted the entire group of Massassi that they had encountered. Jaina looked around in shock, that was how they had did it, they had trapped the Massassi in some form of ancient Sith stasis tube, and they had been awoken rather violently and has gone on the rampage.

"Hey, Lumiya!" Jacen yelled, and heard the Sith cursing him as she came into the room, her face transforming from a look of irritation to one of professional curiosity.

"This is how he did it then? The Massassi were in these?" she asked, and Jacen nodded.

"Seems to be. Kalgrath must have gotten in and freed them." He said, but she looked sceptical as she studied the damaged stasis tubes, then looked with interest at a form of gelatinous substance that was on the inside of some of the tanks.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Jaina said nervously when Lumiya moved to pick some up, but she shrugged.

"Actually dear Jaina, you and I are more suited for picking it up than most of the others, if it is dangerous it won't bother our prosthetics." She said idly, scooping some into a small vial she produced from somewhere, stoppering it and putting it in a cargo slot on her leg.

"Alright, I get they were in stasis, but still seven thousand years is a hell of a long time to be in a stasis tube isn't it? Surely it couldn't have held them for that long, it doesn't make sense." Jacen said, and Jaina nodded.

"Not to mention all of them seemed to have survived by the numbers of those we were fighting, surely the way they were broken out would have at least killed a couple? Exposure? Vestara told me earlier that Massassi who made it to Kesh in the _Omen_ died virtually as soon as they got there, what makes this lot so special?" she asked quizzically, and Lumiya tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Two things I suspect. Ziost is one of their ancestral homeworlds and hence they are more naturally suited to live here than somewhere like Kesh. Secondly, Dreypa was a master of creating things like stasis tubes, his obuilette for example could easily keep someone for thousands of years without interference. I expect they were chosen young and placed into stasis and allowed to grow at a much reduced rate, however something awoke them after their seven thousand year nap and they were alive and well in order to attack us." She theorised, and as the three of them debated the nature of the Massassi, the others were peering curiously around the walls.

"Collect the things we might be able to use over there." K'kruhk said, looking at a book musingly.

Vestara looked around the mausoleum, feeling a malevolence about the place. As she looked around the room, her Force aura growing all the more edgy, she attracted a curious look from Ben.

"Ves?" he asked and she looked suspiciously around.

"The deranged one was right." She said, ignoring Alema as she let out a smug crow of triumph.

"I don't sense anything." Ben said, and suddenly Vestara twirled to face him, feeling a great black presence appear behind him.

Ben turned a split second after her, but far too late to avoid the attack of a pulse of black power, catching him in the chest and sending him spiralling over the room, crashing into a pile of jewels and bringing the entire mound down on top of him. Vestara hissed in vexation, lighting her lightsaber, accompanied by all the others, but the swirling power of darkness was already on the move, a thick tendril knocking Leia and Han into a set of shelves, burying them under ancient weapons. Luke and K'kruhk used the Force, trying to divine their opponent as the twins and Lumiya ran from the antechamber, their own lightsabers and whip glowing. Alema looked at the mass in interest and bowed before it. Caught short by her strange behaviour (well this was strange even for her, she still seemed to have a sense of self preservation), Vestara hesitated and reached out with her feelings, trying to see what it truly was.

And then she felt the nub of power as their attacker was revealed, and she too bowed.

"Lord Dreypa." She said in quiet awe, looking at the tall and well built Force spirit, dressed in black armour, his slightly red face marked by dreadlocks.

The Jedi came to a stop, eyeing the long dead Sith Lord warily as Ben got back to his feet groggily.

"You could not sense me because you are blinkered by the light side boy. Who are you to disturb my tomb?" Dreypa demanded, and Luke stepped forward, and as he did so, Dreypa raised his hand, unleashing a cascade of powerful Force lightning into his chest.

"How dare you try and address me Jedi? I have no use for your kind." He growled, but Lumiya stepped in before he could attack Luke again.

"Lord Dreypa, your hatred of the Jedi is legendary, but at the moment, counterproductive. You asked why we were here within your tomb. We were searching for knowledge, weapons that we can use against a foe greater than any Jedi or Sith." She explained, and Dreypa glowered at her in contempt, as if she were something disgusting on the sole of his shoe.

"You are no Sith either, none of the neophytes running around the galaxy with lightsabers now come anywhere close to a true Sith Lord. You are all gnats compared to our power. Behold my power!" he snarled in fury, and he let loose with another barrage of Force related power. Tendrils of darkness slammed into Han and K'kruhk, making them double over in pain. Arcs of lethal Force lightning coursed over the room, blasting Ben, Jacen and Jaina away from Dreypa's form, sending their screaming bodies hurtling backwards, and dark thoughts and visions suddenly emerged in Leia, Luke and Mara's minds, making them scream in pain and terror as the long dead Sith Lord assaulted their mind. Dreypa sneered in contempt, trying to apply the same trick to Alema however her mind, damaged as it was, gave her an innate immunity against such things. She held her own, as did Vestara, creating a cocoon for herself within the Force, but she knew that should he decide to go after her she wouldn't stand a chance.

"As you can see, you are nothing against my power!" he boasted, and it was then that she struck, blasting a jet of lightning into his spirit and sending him reeling, disrupting his attacks on the others.

K'kruhk growled, hand outstretched towards the recovering Sith spirit, and with a simple wave, he encased the Sith Lord in a spirit field. Dreypa raged, already trying to break out but catching the gist the others all joined in, stopping the Sith in his tracks. They looked up at his spitting, furious visage, incensed that he was being attacked by people he saw as less than himself. Lumiya had recovered and was glaring at him, and then gestured, crushing her hand into a fist in his direction and he howled in pain as she did so, her eyes betraying nothing as somehow, she inexplicably tortured the spirit, making him howl in pain, her face a picture of fury.

"You would do well Dreypa to remember that your time is over. I rule here now, not you. You are nothing more than a long forgotten mage, and the only planet that actually still had any considerable knowledge of you has not long been destroyed by a pretender to my throne. Now, you will do as the true current Dark Lord commands you." She hissed and while he continued to rage, he was held too tightly by the grips of the Jedi and had no choice but to relent.

"You will pay for this heretic." He sneered, and Lumiya shrugged.

"Perhaps, but not by your hands. Now, we need information on the thing that Ajunta Pall discovered deep in the darkness of space, the Demon of the Dark." She said, and Dreypa looked at her sceptically, noticing as well as she did that they were struggling to hold him.

However, upon the mention of Abeloth's alter ego, he stopped struggling as much and looked at them with curiosity.

"Why would you assume I would be of help to you in that regard?" Dreypa asked suspiciously, and K'kruhk, who was having the least trouble keeping the ancient Sith in place, looked around the mausoleum.

"The Leviathans consume the souls, the energy and life essence of their victims. By all accounts she is able to do much the same thing. We need help in learning how to stop her from doing that, circumvent that power." He explained, and Dreypa gave a cold laugh.

"Jedi fool, you seek to defend yourself against her? You are already doomed." He said, laughing derisively, mocking them as he did so.

"Andeddu told us it was a myth, a myth Pall used to try and recruit the Massassi to his cause so he could take over the Sith." Jaina said, but Dreypa only scoffed.

"Hardly. Andeddu always was a full, especially to believe that. Pall may have been trying to make himself the unopposed leader of the Sith but he was no fool. That thing does exist." He said, and Luke glared.

"Well we need to learn more about it so we can fight it, it's lose in the galaxy and threatening us all." He said, and Dreypa laughed.

"Then you are already doomed. The ancient Sith knew of her Jedi fool, and none of us were foolish enough to try to confront her. Andeddu dismissed her as a fairy tale, but the others among us were not quite so blind. In order to scare Pall, this thing must have been powerful. Rumour had it that his lover was driven mad by this creature, the Demon of the Dark. To the Massassi she was something terrible, representing the end of existence, she terrified the soldiers that made up our forces. Of course Andeddu saw that as an attempt by Pall to undermine our control. It's what forced the rest of us, myself, Muur and XoXaan in particular to alter the Massassi, make them less susceptible to his fear mongering." Dreypa explained and as was always the case, every time they heard more about Abeloth, the more scared they got.

The Ancient Sith had obviously known of her existence, and had avoided her like the plague. Over the millennia, it seemed at times of great peril for the galaxy that she somehow managed to manifest herself in some way or other and threaten all of existence, however she had always largely been contained by the power of Centerpoint. However with that gone, she now had millennia of power, anger and frustration and was hungry to take it out on the galaxy, and now there was nothing to stop her.

"She's coming back into the galaxy, we can't hold her back anymore, so we need to know what we can to try and stop her. Which involves you telling us about the Leviathans." Leia said, annoyed by the fact that they didn't actually have anything yet, and the Sith laughed maliciously.

"You are already doomed! Nothing could stop the Leviathans, and this thing, this thing is whispered across the stars. She is the great destroyer, and you puny fools who delude yourself into believing you are powerful will be no match for her. She drains the life, soul and Force out of a being, what chance do you useless and maimed creatures have?" he asked mockingly, laughing derisively at them once again.

"We will destroy her." Luke said defiantly, and Dreypa crowed with laughter.

"You Jedi? You can hardly keep the galaxy together. Do you think I can't feel the rising chaos in the galaxy? The darkness is growing, the galaxy is growing closer to the edge of the abyss and soon now it will all come crashing down. The galaxy is sliding towards a darkness it has never seen before, the darkness of annihilation. The Demon is coming, and soon all will be destroyed by her hunger. You are powerless to stop her." He gloated, at least until Lumiya started to crush his spirit again, making him yell in pain.

"I grow tired of this Dreypa, so tell us what we need to know or you get condemned to the void." She growled menacingly and Dreypa, whose screams were so high they were hurting the group's ears, eventually relented.

"There is a way, but it will do you no good! I will tell you nothing, a true Sith does not share power as you do." He sneered in absolute contempt, and Lumiya raised an eyebrow at him.

"And what gives you the impression that I share power?" she asked dangerously, and he scoffed.

"I can sense them, the Dragon, the Alien and the Aristocrat, all of them vying for your position Cyborg." He sneered and she smiled evilly.

"Yes, but I do not share power. I just need to clean house. And I think I'll start with you." She hissed, but Luke pushed down her hand, interrupting her concentration.

"No he might still be able to tell us something." He said, but Lumiya wasn't paying attention, she was looking at the ceiling above the Sith spirit.

"Lumiya!" Luke snapped, but she shook her head.

"That isn't me." She said in shock and Luke was suddenly getting a very bad feeling about this.

Drepya looked up to see a dark swirling cloud like vortex forming above him. Dreypa looked at it in alarm and then looked at them in furious terror, his eyes wide with fear and fury.

"You see! I warned you, nothing can escape the Demon!" he screamed as a stream of orange light blasted down into the Sith spirit and with a final scream it blew apart into wisps of smoke, annihilated.

And then the entire building began to shake, as out of the vortex a hideous face formed, with glowing red eyes of energy, the face made of smoke and shadow, a wide gaping maw that was filled with razor sharp needle like teeth. And it then gave a furious screaming raw, which was anger, lonliness and love all at once, and with that the face like creature surged forward towards them all.

"RUN!" K'kruhk yelled, already heading for the door, using the Force to gather a few things to his arms as he fled.

The others didn't need telling twice, all of them summoning something (Han picked up a couple of jewels on the way past) as they blazed from the room. All around them the building was shaking, massive cracks were rupturing all along the walls, masonry was falling from above them, dust was falling in waterfalls as they made their way out of the temple, the creature of darkness and shadow still following them. The few torches flared and swirled around the creature, wrapping around it like chains that started cracking like whips, trying to hit the escaping party. Chasms began to open in the floor, the gold and jewels all melted into nothing, the books disintegrated as the creature followed them from the room. Large crunching noises and bangs filled the corridor as they fled as the temple began to implode upon itself, the face barely three inches behind them. Luke seized the initiative and blasted Han with a powerful Force push, sending him hurtling up the corridor and out into safety. Upon landing, Han ran for the trees, hoping that would be enough, before turning back to observe the rest of the group's progress, looking on in terror as the beast snapped at their heels, the red eyes surging in gloating triumph as it got closer.

Lumiya, unencumbered by old age or tiredness, reached the edge first and cracked her unactivated whip, pulling herself to join Han, before using the Force to wrench some trees from the ground and prepare to throw them towards the face. Jacen and Jaina managed to escape next, leaping from the entrance to the temple and copying Lumiya's lead, wrenching some brittle trees in an attempt to hold her off. Ben and Vestara sprang out next, followed closely by Mara and Leia, all of them reaching the relative safety of the trees. K'kruhk then blasted Alema the last of the way, before he and Luke jumped from the temple, and at long last the others threw the trees. The creature grunted in annoyance but with a final roar, the mausoleum collapsed into a pile of rubble, the entire edifice crashing down. The creature roared in fury as the mausoleum collapsed and with a final angry sounding grunt, the creature fizzled out just before it reached the tree line, leaving them in the expanded clearing, all breathing heavily, looking at the shattered remains of the mausoleum.

"Well that was fun." Vestara said after a while, looking at the mausoleum with trepidation.

"Anyone want to explain what the hell that was?" Han asked and Jaina looked at him pityingly.

"Isn't it obvious? It was Abeloth." She said, her voice repressing the fear she felt.

"Her powers are getting stronger. Come, we cannot stay here. I think with Dreypa gone she's lost her conduit but best not to take chances. We ought to leave this place, and I need to check on T'ra." K'kruhk said and he led the rattled group away from the shattered mausoleum.

XX

Back in the safety of the ship, and of space, they were all recovering from the harrowing attempt on their life by Abeloth, and the rest of the repercussions from the planet. As soon as they had gotten back to the ship, Ben and Vestara had zonked out, exhausted by the days events. Luke, with the help of Threepio and Alema had sorted through the items they had taken from the collapsing mausoleum, a few scrolls and books might have been handy, and Lumiya had already claimed one of the two lanvaroks they had taken for Vestara. Leia sent an alert to Alliance command about the Massassi, and Lumiya had also sent orders for Wethen to hunt down the Massassi and capture them for later use. Meanwhile, K'kruhk checked in with T'ra.

"I wondered why I virtually had the afternoon off, maybe she exhausted herself by attacking you. You do realise she just struck halfway across the galaxy? Her powers are getting far out of control, it's a miracle I've lasted this long." T'ra said nervously and K'kruhk nodded.

"Indeed. However with a bit of luck she has tired herself out." He said musingly, and she looked at him curiously.

"The fact remains that she must have had some reason to attack, you think it was Dreypa who lured her there?" T'ra asked and he nodded.

"Yes, simply because I don't want to consider the other option. Which before you ask is the possibility that she may be spying on us and keeping an eye on what we're doing." He said nervously, and T'ra frowned worriedly, her usually impassive face the picture of concern.

"Be wary K'kruhk she may be watching you even now, which I agree is a rather disturbing thought. But how did Dreypa attract himself to her in the first place, he's meant to be a spirit, what could he have done to attract her attention?" she asked and the Whiphid smiled grimly.

"Simple. He escaped." He said, and she looked at him in confusion.

"From where?"

"He was originally killed on Kesh. I suspect when Krayt levelled the place, he was set free and anchored himself to his new home, just in time for us to come after him. He awoke his Massassi and brought about the chain of events on the planet." He explained and she sighed in irritation.

"Why can't the Sith just stay dead rather than coming back in various forms, they're a nuisance. What's your next move?" she asked.

"One of the few books we managed to get before the place collapsed referred to a weapon capable of draining the Force, which would help explain Abeloth's power." He said, and her eyes widened.

"Wait, you think the Dark Reaper might help explain her?" she asked in shock, realising what her old friend was referring to.

He shrugged.

"Well it makes sense to look doesn't it? The Dark Reaper, well the Force Harvester, works by draining the Force from whatever it comes into contact with, hence the attacks at the start of the Clone Wars. Also, from what we know the Ancient Sith had designed the damn thing, though it wasn't until the schism between Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow that they built it. Abeloth must work in the same way yes? Mind you, we know so little about her we're just pissing in the wind, but the theory seems sound doesn't it?" he asked, and she nodded.

"A good theory I suppose. Very well, good luck old friend. But please hurry, just because she's been quiet today doesn't mean she won't resume our little battle of wills later. Hurry." She implored, and he nodded.

"As soon as we know enough we will be on our way to you." He promised and she gave him a wan smile.

"Let's just hope that its in time." She said, before her holo flickered out, leaving K'kruhk to contemplate in the dark.

XX

The Dreadnaught _Schism_ dropped out of lightspeed, high above the ancient homeworld of the Sith, Ziost. And as Gavar Khai, seated in the captain's chair, extended his awareness, he realised that he was too late. The _Millennium Falcon_ was long since gone, leaving only a light imprint of their presence in their place.

"Curse them!" Khai snarled, slamming his fist into the arm of his chair.

"We will find them Saber Khai. We can't be that far behind." Sazat, his second in command, replied, already typing in the next set of coordinates.

Khai scowled.

"I can feel my daughter, I ought to be happy she survived but she has now thrown herself in with that witch Lumiya. We must track her down before it is too late. Have we any idea where they are heading?" he asked, and Grana Takris finished her calculations.

"By the looks of things they don't intend to leave the space that belongs to us by right, there aren't very many places they could go. Stennes and Thule are the two most likely candidates though." She said, and Khai nodded, processing the information.

Stenness was a desolate world, dark and uninhabitable except by the very dangerous camouflaged predators that lived there such as the Hssiss. As far as he knew, in no conflict had there been a battle on the planet, and no Sith Lord as far as their archives suggested had been buried there, which made it most unlikely that they had headed there. Thule, the site of several battles during several wars, was all the more likely.

"Set a course for Thule." He ordered, and his crew began entering the course.

Over at the navigation terminal, Dredity, the aide to Lord Gaalan, watched their leader intently. After his catastrophic failure to realise what Lumiya was doing at Kesh, she had been assigned to the _Schism_ in order to keep an eye on the Sith Saber. His failure had led to the destruction of their world, and now his daughter, his only living relative, was firmly within the company of the Jedi and worse Lumiya. Her superior, Lord Gaalan, had ordered her on board for two reasons. The first was that he didn't trust Khai to report everything, so she was to be the eyes and ears of the Circle while she was on board, and to report back on what had transpired. And secondly, due to his monumental failure, once he had hunted down and dealt with Lumiya, she was to kill him.

So, now they went to Thule, where they would hopefully encounter Lumiya and her cohort, and then they could destroy her, and she could destroy him and take his place as a senior Saber, if not become a master. She wouldn't fail Lord Gaalan.

Khai watched as his ship leapt to lightspeed. The problem was the ship was a Dreadnaught, which were a fairly slow breed of ship. His prey may elude him before he caught up to them, and that would be simply intolerable. Lumiya had to pay for manipulating him like she had. And even more so, he had to make her pay before she corrupted his daughter.

Or else he may have to make her pay too.

XX

Jaina opened her eyes, fresh from a meditation, a dark shadow having passed over her mind.

"Jaina?" Leia asked, seeing the preoccupied expression on her daughter's face.

"I'm ok mom, I just felt I thought something..." she said, but whatever it was it was gone now.

It felt strange, like someone was stalking them but stopped when they were noticed. Strange indeed.

As Jaina headed off to see if Jacen had felt anything (he was currently schooling Mara in dejarik, to her aunt's great disgust), Ben and Vestara, who had recovered from their energy expenditure, were sitting at the table, with Ben helping Vestara categorise items for Lumiya.

"How can you tell what the words mean? To me they all look like jumbled up letters." Ben complained, passing her a scroll, which she proceeded to scrutinise.

"Hold that thought. Typical, Alema would pick up something useless." She grumbled and he looked at it in interest.

"What is it?"

"An ancient Sith shopping list." She reported, flinging it on to a pile carelessly.

"I presume you have a good reason for throwing around important historical artefacts child?" Lumiya asked in a cold but pleasant voice from the door, and she nodded.

"Take a look at it master." She said, and Lumiya picked up the scroll, then scoffed.

"An ancient shopping list. Why on earth would they leave it in a tomb? Ahh, never mind. We can always sell it to a museum on Coruscant, they'll pay for all sorts of junk." She said, placing it down more carefully than Vestara had before ambling through to annoy Luke.

"Anyway what were you saying?" she asked, and Ben picked up the next scroll.

"Look at this, to me they're all just a bunch of little pictures and squiggles." He said, and she grinned.

"It's simple really. Here..." she said, taking his hand, and guiding it to the first letter of the ancient Sith alphabet.

As she made her way through the alphabet, she could feel Ben's concentration on what she was showing him, but she could also feel the little bit of pleasure he got from her cool hand being laid gently across his warm one. Excellent. Lumiya was right, Ben was attracted to her, very much so. Not that she wasn't attracted to him, but unlike the young Jedi, she could focus on her job first and pleasure later. Lumiya had laid out the details of her plan, and she was now an essential weapon into bringing it to fruition. Ben was smitten by her, something both Sith would use to their advantage, and sooner rather than later.

But this was but one move in a very long game, a game Lumiya had been playing for over thirty years. Only now was she moving towards checkmate. And while her master made her moves, she would focus on Ben. For both business and pleasure.

As she guided Ben to the next letter, she looked up to see Lumiya standing in the doorway, her eyes alight with malice, and her face signifying her approval.

In the hold, Mara cursed as Jacen took out another of her men. This was probably the Force's retribution for battering K'kruhk like she had at Galactic Conquest.

"Any reason why you're here picking on your poor aunt rather than hanging out with your cousin?" she asked, trying to figure out how best to use her three remaining men.

Jacen grinned.

"Two reasons. First of all, it's fun, and K'kruhk asked me to put you in your place. And secondly, Ben's busy hanging out with Vestara." He said, his voice carefully neutral and Mara grinned.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy there little nephew?" she asked patronisingly, and he gave her a dirty look.

"No!" he retorted, but there was an ever so slight childish whine to his tone which made her grin all the more.

However he was saved from further persecution by his sister.

"Hey, you should know Ben and Vestara are holding hands already." She said cheerfully, and Mara's eyes widened in alarmed rage.

"What!" she yelped, and stormed off making the twins laugh.

"Wait till she finds out Vestara's teaching him how to read Sith, she'll blow like the Death Star." Jaina whispered and Jacen laughed as they heard Ben and Vestara's protestations of innocence as Mara started interrogating them from the next room.

XX

The ship was quiet as they headed to Thule, Ben and Vestara had nearly gotten away with their whole learning to read thing except when Vestara let slip she had been teaching him Sith, which made Mara, who had been simmering down, rile right back up again. Now the only ones awake were the droids, who were carrying out some maintenance, Lumiya (currently trying to find Alema who had vanished again), Alema (the object of Lumiya's search) and Ben, who was watching the Sith tour the ship in a bad mood looking for the insane Dark Jedi while sipping a cup of hot chocolate, trying not to laugh at Lumiya's increasing vexation.

"Oh sod you then, stay hidden for all I care." Lumiya grumbled as Alema once again had used the Force to mess up her perceptions.

"Having fun?" Ben asked, grinning as Alema skipped behind Lumiya, laughing at her as she did so.

"No. Blasted bug-slut. Contrary to popular belief, not all Sith eschew sleep. I quite like the occasional eight hours." She grumbled, getting herself some water.

"Shame." He said unconvincingly, and she looked at him, a slight smile on her face.

"As is your situation." She said, and he raised an eyebrow at her to indicate she should explain herself.

"Oh come on Ben, it may have been a while but I still know what it looks like. The totally unsubtle male look of appreciation when looking at an attractive girl. Yours is much the same as your fathers." She said and he snorted derisively.

"If you think I'm looking at you, you're crazier than Alema." He said and she smiled.

"Of course not, your uncle is the one with a thing for older women." She said, earning her a confused look.

"Anyway, I have seen the looks you've been giving Vestara. You like her." She said, and he scoffed.

"No I don't."

"Please, it's obvious you do. You do know it can never happen though don't you?" she asked and he glared at her.

"i don't see how what Vestara and I get up to is any of your business." He said defensively, and she nodded.

"True, but Vestara is now my apprentice, and I am responsible for her. You do realise nothing can ever happen? You're a Jedi, she is a Sith. Your parents, your aunt, your cousin, none of them will ever allow you to be with her my dear boy." She said casually, and he looked away from her irritably.

"I don't fancy her so it doesn't matter, you're deluded." He said venomously, and she smiled, knowing she was getting to him.

"Of course you do dear boy. She's your age, she's the first girl you've met who doesn't get overcome with awe upon seeing you, she's beautiful, she's exotic, dangerous and a way for you to rebel. She's the complete package, aside from the fact your family will never allow you to be with her. She's the very personification of what your mother would never want you to be with. I know you like her Ben, and she likes you too, I'm sure of it. But alas, it can never happen. Good night." She said, suppressing the triumph as she left a furious and thinking Ben behind and headed back to her room. As she went, she saw Vestara appear in the doorway and stopped.

"Another move master?" she asked in excitement and Lumiya nodded.

"Yes. Ben will pull away from you for a while, don't pester him on it. After all, the heart wants what it can't have, and absence makes the ehart grow fonder." She said, laying her land on Vestara's shoulder proudly and heading to bed, both Sith smiling as Ben mulled over his thoughts in the hold.

XX

The door opened, revealing a large scale medical lab, where the Sith in charge, a female Arkanian by the name of Darth Scientia, her eyes pure white and surrounded by swirling Sith tattoos, watched as her Devaronian assistant, Darth Pharma, completed their latest test.

"Trihexalon Scientia?" Oracle asked as the Bothan strolled into the lab, and the Arkanian turned with a sinister smile on her face to greet the newcomer.

"Lady Oracle, a rare pleasure. Yes, Trihexalon. We've perfected a new strain, capable of eradicating an entire planet in a matter of ours. Over there, we are working on viral spores, to use on planets with high foliage, such as Felucia and Kashyyyk. We must always be prepared to serve Lord Krayt must we not?" Scientia asked and the bothan smiled and bowed her head.

"Indeed we must old friend. However, perhaps we should go for something more...traditional." she suggested and Pharma chuckled as he came over, his horns dyed black in place of tattoos.

"I think not Lady Oracle. Gone are the days of Death Stars, Galaxy Guns and Sun Crushers, these are the weapons of the future." He assured her, and she nodded.

"I agree, I simply wonder if we should totally abandon who we are when it comes to weapons of mass destruction." She said, and before Pharma could say anything, Scientia held up her hand.

"The teachings of ones such as Darth Nihilus are forbidden remember?" she asked and Oracle chuckled darkly.

"Believe me, I didn't mean that sort of thing, all too dangerous. But, there are other ways to replicate such powers." She said, and Scientia's blank eyes widened in understanding.

"You've had a vision, a weapon we can use?" she asked with excitement, and she nodded.

"Indeed I have. The Force Harvester, or at least parts of it since it was destroyed by the Republic during the Clone Wars. We may be able to use it to our own advantage." She said, and Scientia grinned.

"You're quite right, but I would need to study it here, in the lab. Which would mean a trip to Thule to get it I presume?" she asked, and Oracle nodded.

"It would. Which is why I asked my master down here at this time." She said, turning to face her master as she strolled in through the opening door.

"Hate when she does that." Pharma muttered, by Scientia silenced him with a gesture.

Wyyrlok wasn't the only Sith who had entered. Following him was the tall cadaverous form of Darth Fabula, the Muun who served as their archivist. While not contributing in his own field to further their cause, despite his calling as archivist, he was a powerful mental Sith Lord, capable of reducing an entire room to terrifying visions with a flick of his finger.

"Oracle, I have brought Fabula as you requested, but why did you request our presence, and here?" he asked, looking in distaste as the victims locked in plastic cages who Scientia was trialling a new strain of the Krytos virus on.

"I have had a vision master, and it concerns all of our departments. Parts of the weapon, the Force Harvester, remain on Thule, buried, but soon to be revealed. I believe we should act to take it, before the Jedi get wind of it." She said, and Fabula looked at her in excitement.

"You are sure of this? It was thought destroyed." He said, and she nodded.

"It was, but the Jedi, foolishly, simply buried the pieces, believing them to be of no more threat. Lady Scientia here believes we ought to be able to adapt it, or at the very least learn from it. I propose a mission to Thule in order to recover it." She said, and Wyyrlok looked at her suspiciously.

"Why the hurry apprentice?"

She growled softly.

"Because I fear Lumiya is on her way to Thule even now, and the last thing we need is for her to get access to something like the Force Harvester, it could give her an edge we don't want her to have, we would find it incredibly hard to stand against such a weapon when it comes down to a fight between us." She said, and Wyyrlok scowled, knowing full well now she said that he would have to give in.

"Lord Wyyrlok we must investigate, our future may depend on it." Scientia said, and Fabula nodded.

"Not to mention this history we could learn, the information we could gather."

Wyyrlok glared at his former apprentice. He didn't like being backed into a corner like this and she knew it. He also knew he had no choice. She had recruited Scientia and Fabula before he'd even arrived. However, as with all their missions any movement could lead to the Jedi learning of their existence. True, Lumiya had already told the Skywalkers, but...

The Skywalkers wouldn't want to cause a panic, they wouldn't tell anyone on Coruscant about an army of Sith for fear of causing widespread terror. Which meant that now would be a perfect opportunity to stop them, and even better, stop Lumiya, once and for all. However, if he was to do it, he had little time. If Lumiya was on her way to Thule, they must soon be too.

"Very well Lady Oracle. Take the others, take a ship, and see if you can't find us the Force Harvester. And we shall have a discussion when you return."

She bowed, and he swept from the room. It was risky, if anyone else should encounter them, the entire galaxy could discover them and it would be disastrous. However, if the Jedi or their Sith competitors got their hands on the Force Harvester, even the shattered remnants of it, it could spell the end of the One Sith. And with Lord Krayt away, it was down to Wyyrlok to protect the Sith, and he did not intend to fail in that mission. Oracle had left him with no choice but to approve her mission to Thule, and he suspected she had left all of this so late and recruited Scientia and Fabula in order to get off Korriban and test herself. He knew his former apprentice was restless, all of them were. But she had to learn caution.

However, for now she was bound for Thule, and he had no choice but to let them go.

But when she returned, he would remind her where her loyalties lay.

**Here we are, at the start of a mammoth Fate of the Force update, I want to finish Episode II of the tale (all being well there is only the next chapter left before we start Episode III) before I go onto my new Supernatural arc, and I've already started the next chapter.**

**So, the Sith are up to no good as usual, Massassi are loose in the galaxy and the Alliance is falling apart at the seams. And now, with Vestara on board, Lumiya's plan can go into overdrive as she prepares for her next moves. But just what are they? Our heroes are bound for Thule, where Lady Oracle, eager to test herself against the Jedi, awaits. Will the Force Harvester yield anything of use in the battle against Abeloth?**

**Next time we also see a Jedi with little profiling in the Expanded Universe, the pirates and the Hapans return, as do the Chiss and plots begin to mount on Coruscant**

**So, until next time, it hopefully wont be long, please read and review!**


	17. Episode II: Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

Fate of the Force

She threw herself into an alleyway to avoid the latest item he had hurled against her in her continuing attempts to try and capture the latest young Jedi affected by the Force psychosis. Cilghal had been carrying out a simply routine examination of Avinoam Arelis when he too had flipped out, stabbing Cilghal with her own syringe and trapping poor Tekli in a medical closet. Seeing this, Klin-Fa Gi had attempted to stop him, however, by firing a jet of Force lightning at her, which she had been totally unprepared for, he had managed to elude her, resulting in this chase through Coruscant.

"You won't take me back to your master, I'll find them, I'll find all of them!" Avinoam yelled, springing up to the walkway above and making another dash for it.

"Why must people I chase always make this difficult?" she hissed, leaping up and catching sight of Avinoam at the end of the concourse and throwing herself after him.

"Klin-Fa, it's Tekli. I have Master Cilghal stabilised, Nelani let me out of the closet. One of our trackers was still on him when he left the medical ward." She reported, and Klin-Fa dodged around a family of Ithorians, refusing to lose sight of her quarry.

"An actual tracking device?" she asked, catching up with Avinoam as he looked around, terrified, for his next move.

"No, a monitor to take his blood pressure and electrolyte levels. His heart rate is considerably increased over all the other victims, and his blood pressure is approaching dangerous levels, he's angry and terrified, which is never a good combination." She warned, and Klin-Fa nodded.

"Never a good combination. Keep in touch." She said, and the wild, black haired Jedi, having tired of this game, used the Force to increase her speed, darting through the crowds despite their noises of indignation and finally caught up to Avinoam, who was standing in the middle of a junction looking petrified.

"Avinoam, calm down. I'll take you back to the temple and we can make you better." She said.

Well they couldn't make him better but at least he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone by accident.

Avinoam turned to look at her in terror, his hand dropping to his lightsaber and she tensed up, fearful of what he would do next.

"How did you do it? Where is everyone? I can hear them all calling me but I can't see them, you're all copies! What are you?" he demanded, and she sighed.

"A friend. Please, calm down and come with me." She said, aware that she was attracting a lot of stares she could seriously do without.

"No, you're all wrong. I won't do it." He said skittishly, and she raised her hand to the people who were approaching from either side to try and help, keeping them at bay.

"Avinoam, you're not well. Please, come with me." She said, but his mind, driven mad and warped by fear, meant that her words were meaningless.

"Never copy! You're trying to keep me from them! Where are they? I'll kill you!" he yelled, lighting his aqua coloured lightsaber and leaping towards her.

In a single movement, Klin-Fa had withdrawn both her golden lightsaber and her yellow shoto, blocking his mad attack and forcing him backwards. Avinoam gave a grunt and came at her again, but all she did was block his attack once more. Their battle continued, Avinoam, increasingly crazy and desperate, slamming at her defences and with her simply fending them off, trying to get through to him with her words and her mind.

"Avinoam, reach into the Force, I'm trying to help you, please, stop this." She said, though she was beginning to suspect her efforts were futile.

"No, I won't! You're all in this together, I'll stop you!" he said, coming at her once again and this time she attacked back, her two shining blades unleashing a swirling sunlight tapestry of light that pushed him back to where he had begun. She then blocked a final swing and nicked his hand, making him drop his lightsaber with a yell, and she pointed both blades at his neck.

"Now, stay this madness! We'll get you right back to the temple, back to safety." She said, barely registering Tekli as she reported that she had sent a speeder to her location.

Avinoam grinned.

"I don't think so, I won't be taken by you. And if I'm going down, I'll take all of you with me!" he snarled, and Klin-Fa just raised her hands to Force push people out of the vicinity when he exploded.

Released Force energy blasted across the area, making people scream with horror and fright as Avinoam, having gathered all the power within himself, used it to detonate his body in a swirling nexus of energy. Klin-Fa was sent flying backwards, crashing heavily into the wall of the concourse as the Force explosion receded back into a swirl of energy before vanishing completely.

She sat up, dazed from the explosion. As far as she knew, no one had ever committed suicide in such a way with the Force before. Screams were echoing in her ears as she tried to clear her senses, and she forced herself to look at the black mark where Avinoam had once been before, in an attempt to take out as many copies as possible, he had blown himself up. Force powered suicide bombers was the last thing anyone needed.

She could barely hear Tekli urgently squeaking in her ear to find out what had happened and as her mind cleared and the impact of her failure hit her, she felt something else weigh her down. Clearing her senses, she heard the forlorn cries of others and looked around, and finally truly saw what had happened.

His explosion may have incinerated his body, but the powerful shockwave had caused more damage. As she looked around, she heard the cries of despair, as the three bodies, either killed by the blast or by their heavy landing were surrounded by the families they had just left behind.

"I failed..." Klin-Fa whispered in shock, sagging to her knees in defeat as Tekli pressed her for details.

And as the police sirens sounded, she was sure she heard a wicked and unnatural laugh unlike any she had ever heard before echoing across the Force.

XX

The Senate was in an uproar, and Releqy's head was seriously killing her as the emergency session entered its fourth hour, and it seemed that there was still no end in sight. This entire thing was just turning into one major headache.

"This attack simply proves what I have always said, the Jedi cannot be relied upon to protect the Alliance. Today, a great tragedy has marked Coruscant in which a young Jedi decided to commit suicide, which is tragic enough, however it was made all the more tragic by the deaths of three innocent civilians in the process! And do you know what the worst part is my friends? A fellow Jedi had him at her mercy and she did nothing and simply allowed him to do what he did! I must question not only the Jedi's ability, but also their desire to protect the Alliance if they allow their own to take their lives and the lives of others without any attempt to stop them!" Senator Haydnat Treen, the Senator from Kuat proclaimed, to wide applause from the rest of the Senators in her usual faction, and a good number in the faction that supported Releqy too, to her great dismay.

"As I have already said Senator, the accident down in Coco Town was a tragic accident! The Force psychosis that has been affecting these young Jedi gripped Jedi Arelis and in his paranoia he committed suicide rather than allow himself to be taken by those he thought would hurt him. As I understand from our commissioner of police, Tan Divo, who has assigned his best prefect, Lon Shevu to the case, there was nothing Jedi Ga could have done. She thought she had beaten Jedi Arelis and was just as surprised as anyone when he killed himself, and if it hadn't been for her quick thinking a lot more could have been killed." Releqy responded, and Fost Bramsin, the Senator for Coruscant and occasional ally of both Treen and Releqy, depending on his mood and what he'd had for breakfast that day, entered the fray.

"A young Jedi affected by a Force illness who has now killed himself and endangered the lives of the citizens we have been elected to protect on our capital world? Why was he not under quarantine, why have we not sealed the temple in an effort to stop this Force 'madness' before it escalates any further? You may have hidden the actions of Jedi Natua Wan and Sothais Saar well, but one within our esteemed company was nearly killed when Jedi Minker went insane too." And Releqy cursed and leaned down to whisper to Wynn.

"How the hell did he find that out?" she asked as she waxed lyrical, knowing she had a minute before he came back to the point.

"I've no idea Chief Ak'la, but I'll set up an inquiry to find out. Mind you, with the number of people who saw them, it was always going to be difficult to hide, especially when your office was affected." He whispered and she turned back just in time to hear the tail end, and one of the most important bits, of Bramsin's speech.

"The Jedi must act now, or we must act for them before any more lives are lost? Must we not Senator Wuul?" Bramsin declared, turning to the Sullustan who got to his podium.

Inwardly, Releqy was cursing. Bramsin was apparently on Treen's side today. She had thought she had gotten away with Natua and Soathais' mental breaks but apparently not. And now, with his little tirade he had now roped Senator Wuul into the mess, and had basically manipulated him into a position where he would need to stand against the one he usually supported in the Senate, which was Releqy. Damn that man.

"The Jedi assure me they have the situation well in hand Senator Bramsin. As you know I have a close friendship with Master Katarn of the Council, and he has told me they are taking all necessary steps to cure these poor young Jedi before the crisis further escalates." He rebutted elegantly, and Nav Ekhat of Murkhana, one of the few who actually voted with the facts rather than the factions, looked questioningly at Wuul.

"Well in hand? Senator, a Jedi suicide bomber, for let's be realistic that's what he was, has just killed three innocent people and could potentially have killed many more, and you think the Jedi have the situation well in hand?" he asked incredulously, and Releqy resisted the urge to groan.

"The Jedi and the Chief of State are meeting this afternoon in order to discuss further actions that we may take to try to end this plague affecting the Jedi." Wynn said, from his seat beside Releqy, which seemed to make Ekhat retreat slightly.

"That is only a stop gap solution though is it not? Sadly we still do not know the real cause of this illness among the Jedi." Nab H'aas, the Bith Senator who was part of Releqy's faction, stated sadly.

"And yet we continue to allow them into places they should not be!" Treen claimed, to much applause, once again receiving some from Releqy's faction.

"Such as Senator?" Releqy asked coolly, and Treen smiled.

"We entrust the Jedi to enforce our will, to protect our citizens. We give them dangerous missions, diplomatic missions...I can only imagine what might happen should we follow your most recent suggestion that we send the Jedi to help the liberated slave worlds transition into the Alliance. What if an episode struck them then? It could destabilise the entire process." She said, and Releqy had a bad feeling Treen was getting to where she had been aiming all day.

"The Jedi assure me..." Releqy began, but she was cut off by Zalk't, the Vratix Senator for Thyferra, cutting across her.

"The Jedi assure you? Surely not, since Master Skywalker seems to have vanished, he is the Grand Master is he not?" he asked, and she narrowed her eyes.

"Indeed he is, but the Council is leading perfectly well in his absence." She said, and he looked at her sceptically.

"Truly? As they did in the Swarm War while my planet was put to torch by the Killiks and their membrosia addicted co-conspirators?" he demanded, and Releqy had to admit, it was a good point, a dirty point, but a good one.

"As I was saying, the Council has the situation well in hand, and Master Solusar is keeping me informed of all developments." Releqy said coolly.

"The point still remains Chief Ak'la, that the Jedi, super powered beings who serve us only because they feel it is their duty to do so, are now posing an active threat to society. This plague could easily spread through the entire Order for all we know, and nothing is being done! I only speak out of concern for the Jedi," Treen said, which Ak'a highly doubted, "I would not wish to have to fight an insane Jedi Order. After all, I remember the night of Operation Knightfall, and Flame Night, Senator Danu and I watched the entire thing when I was his assistant, and I have no wish to see a repeat of such an occurrence, but if the Jedi take up arms against us, as today's victim did, whether it be willingly or not, then we will need to act in order to protect our citizens."

"What are you suggesting Senator Treen?" Moog Ulur, the Senator for Rodia asked, a tinge of excitement in his voice, and Releqy exchanged a dark look with Wynn, whatever she had been after she had been building up to this moment for the entire session, hence why her supporters were now looking so damn smug.

"It is clear that Chief Ak'la will not listen to the wishes of the majority of the Senate," she said, with a condescending smile in Releqy's direction, making the Caamasi narrow her eyes angrily, "and will push ahead with her desire to involve the Jedi in the widening conflict with the pirates, conflict resolution, the rumours of the return of the Yuuzhan Vong and the overseeing of the new planets accession to the Alliance. A courageous decision Chief Ak'la. But if that is your wish, I propose a new policy.

I propose that the Jedi be treated as potentially dangerous. As a result of this action, Jedi out in the field representing the interests of the Alliance must now be accompanied by an impartial observer, a security detail and a trained psychologist. After all, we never know when this psychosis of theirs will strike and we cannot allow them to jeopardise the Alliance in any way. Furthermore, I propose that the Jedi be forced to adopt an open door policy, allowing impartial Alliance observers into their temple to observe their actions and security measures, with the aim of reporting back to the public to make them well informed of their movements which at times can be seen as very dubious and not entirely in our best interests. These observers of life within the temple will highlight any potential trouble spots and allow us to adjust accordingly. In addition, I move that the Jedi Council be forced to report to a select committee, who will approve or disapprove of any mission or task they may choose to undertake, and they will report directly to said committee on all matters. Finally, I also move that every Jedi be assigned an impartial observer, regardless if they are on a mission or not, to expand public awareness and governmental awareness of those we entrust our safety to." Treen concluded with a flourish, and for a second the entire chamber was silent.

And then the cheers and applause from Treen's faction started. Releqy was stunned, what she was proposing would basically make her what Palpatine had been in the final days of the Old Republic, the ultimate authority over the Jedi. She was trying to enslave the Jedi to the will of the Alliance, and judging by the looks of the crowd, there was a good chance she might be able to pass it.

Senators on her side such as Triebakk were on their feet, yelling abuse across the room as Releqy rolled her eyes, and Wynn seized the initiative, slamming his hammer several times to restore order.

"Thank you for that novel approach to the problem Senator Treen. However, as we have other matters to discuss, I suggest we move the vote on your rather controversial new measures to the end of the session." Relequ said and the Senator from Kuat bowed her head, the old woman grinning maliciously, but the Caamasi refused to be cowed and simply looked right back at her, her expression stony.

"Indeed we should. And firstly we must examine the accession of new worlds to the Alliance. While it is wonderful that slavery is now on its way out, it is causing us more problems than it is solving. We are overstretched, as our recent loss of Mygeeto has shown," Senator Charr of Corellia said, indicating the now empty platform which had once belonged to the Mygeetan Senator, "and our diplomatic department cannot cope. And, as said in our last discussion, due to the lack of diplomats and civil servants Chief Ak'la now wishes to use Jedi, who's problems of late are common knowledge, to help bring the newly liberated worlds into the Alliance. Would it not be advisable to scale back the new admissions? Our economy is in a crisis, our forces are stretched very thin, civil wars are springing up all over the galaxy and we simply don't have the manpower to bring all these new planets into the Alliance, and to add to the chaos Chief Ak'la wishes to use the Jedi for this purpose? I put it to you Chief Ak'la that you are rushing on the new planets in order to draw attention from your other failings." He said rudely and outrage broke out among her supporters, and a few of Treen's looked less than impressed as well.

"Out of order!" Padnel Ovin yelled, and Wynn once more banged his gavel for silence.

"Order!" he yelled, calming down the bickering Senators.

Releqy glowered at Charr, who didn't look remotely abashed by his character assassination.

"As I'm sure I have informed you Senator Charr, the slaver Nazarn represents a very real threat to those worlds that formerly supported slavery. In order to protect the denizens of each of the new planets from the trepidations of the slavers, we have unfortunately had to accelerate our usual procedure for admissions. However, once upon a time, before this august body became weighed down in the swamp of bureaucracy, all that was required for membership was an earnest request, a democratic government and potential benefits for the Alliance. Think of the accession of new planets as a renaissance back to those simpler times Senator." Releqy boldly responded, to approving applause from around the room.

"Just one little point of order Chief Ak'la, you claim the quick accession of the new planets is to over them protection from the slaver Nazarn. Ignoring your illegal actions at Orvax," Bramsin said, and she knew full well that by mentioning Orvax he was making sure it wasn't ignored, "isn't it a rather needless exercise? After all, according to our information Nazarn is currently in one of the galactic arms, locked in a conflict with Admiral Daala is he not?"

"For the moment he is, but he could easily return, Admiral Daala is struggling to contain him. And while Nazarn may be the most powerful slaver in the galaxy, he is by no means the only one. What if other slave groups should follow the lead of the T'Surr and invade the planets that have overthrown slavery? The result could be disastrous." Releqy said, making the old man back down slightly.

"The main problem is that we're overstretched and I'm afraid Chief Ak'la you cannot deny that." Ta'laam Ranth, the Antarian Senator said in his slow doleful voice, and she had to admit, he was right about that at least.

"We are incredibly overstretched. The diplomatic department has never had to deal with this many accessions at once before, the civil service is paralysed and the banks are trying to repair the already damaged economy and have to keep factoring the influx of around thirty new worlds every day on the overall Alliance economy, not to mention Mygeeto leaving and the effects it could have if it starts something more. While I understand the desire for rapidity, the way the diplomatic department is going about it isn't helping, and we are running out of diplomatic teams to go to each planet to oversee the transition. The Jedi are also overstretched, and they aren't the only ones. The First Fleet is deployed throughout the Core to help keep the peace, the Second Fleet is on hand to assist Queen Mother Tenel Ka should the situation in Hapes escalate and that is currently tying up our entire fleet. The Third Fleet is currently keeping the pirates at bay, holding off a resurgent Vong threat and will also need to deal with the Mandalorians before too long. The Fourth Fleet is currently patrolling the Corellian sector to make sure they don't try to use the current chaos to act up again. The Fifth Fleet is assisting the now expanded Empire to defend itself against increasing Vong raids, while the Sixth Fleet is overseeing the sustenance of our infrastructure which has been taking several hits recently along with responding to the appeals of potential member planets. The Seventh Fleet is protecting the shipyards at Kuat, while the Eight protects Fondor and the Ninth protects Coruscant. Meanwhile the Tenth is maintaining the blockade around T'Surr. All of our forces are overstretched and we're incredibly thinly spread out across the galaxy, we are making ourselves vulnerable." Nensu Kaatik reported grimly, and Releqy sighed. Trust the Chagrian to know everything inside out.

They were spread out, and vulnerable, and they had enemies and crises and problems coming out of their ears. And it showed no signs of letting up, in fact it was only going to get worse before it got any better.

"Hence my request to the Jedi for additional support. However, Orvax is nearly complete and Ryloth has adapted so with any luck we might soon start to see a reprieve. Our military has the situation well in hand, and with the help of Admiral Pellaeon, we will hopefully soon have the Vong run to ground. So, it has been a long session, so if we could adjourn?" Releqy asked, hoping to get away with it, but Treen may be old but she wasn't stupid.

"What of my proposal Chief Ak'la?" she asked sweetly and the Caamasi seethed inside.

"Very well. Let us begin the votes." She said, and as they all clambered to find their voting tablets, Releqy leaned down to whisper to Wynn.

"Tell the Council I want to see them after this meeting. I'm going to have some bad news for them." She said grimly, then returned to administer the vote.

XX

The newshour was finished, another successful show had been done, and during it Perre had given three major reports. One was on the success of the anti slavery campaign, encouraging the actions of Freedom Flight and their associates as the various planets across the galaxy started to topple the establishment of slavery. Secondly he had led an interview on the impact the secession of Mygeeto could have on the Alliance and the Empire at large. And finally, he had focused on the situation of the Jedi, their changing role and the impact of the new laws that had only been announced an hour ago. All through it, Perre had never wavered, believing the Jedi were essential to a peaceful galaxy and praised them as heroes and valiant defenders of civilisation.

And now he sat on his red leather couch, enjoying a last drink before he left the darkened studio and went home. And it was then that the large Chevin became aware that he was not alone.

"Jorm?" he asked, but got no reply, and he was just about to call for security when a young woman appeared from the shadows, her eyes narrowed.

"Perre Needmo I presume?" she asked, and Perre nodded hesitantly, his eyes drawn to the lightsaber on her waist.

"Indeed. What can I do for you master Jedi?" he asked, and she smirked.

"What you can do for me is stop that nonsense you are reporting. Your praise of the Jedi. You see, it doesn't fit in with my superior's plans." She said, and he looked at her incredulously.

Was she some sort of rogue Jedi, out to damage the Order? He moved for his security buzzer, beside him on the couch but with a twitch of her hand she sent it flying away into the corner of the room and the large Chevin was beginning to get scared, his heart was racing as he attempted to get up, to try and force her away with his bulk.

But curiously he could not move.

"Don't try and go anywhere. The lies you spread must come to an end, ugly one. And the lies about the Jedi, they will be the first to go. But don't worry, we'll still give your viewers what they want, the truth. It'll just be our version of it." She purred, clenching her hand, and he began to feel his heart accelerate to dangerous levels.

This woman was no Jedi. And she intended to use his show, his name, to boost her own agenda and launch an anti-Jedi campaign. He had to do something, warn someone...but his heart was hammering too fast, he couldnt see straight, what was she doing to him?

"Goodbye Perre Needmo. And don't worry, once we take over the galaxy, we'll wipe out your entire disgusting species too." She vowed and his heart began to flatline, and with a quiet guttural sigh, Perre Needmo, celebrated journalist, died a quiet death.

Kayala Fei, a Sith Saber from the Lost Tribe, smiled as the ugly Chevin died. And with such a quiet little thing, the campaign against the Jedi had begun. Lord Vol would be pleased. Soon, using the popularity of the late Needmo, and the fact that the Tribe had bought many outlets of media, such as this news station, they would begin to direct their shadow war against the Jedi.

This was just the first step. Smiling, Kayala headed to inform her superiors. The war had begun.

XX

"I managed to block three of the four provisos she put in place, however I couldn't beat the last one. Any Jedi now out in the field representing Alliance interests must now be accompanied by a security detail and a psychologist, who will report back on their findings and if there are any concerns the Jedi will be taken in for further study by our analysts." Releqy explained in her office to the four Council members who had answered her summons.

"I'm sure you did your best Chief Ak'la. The problem is, Treen knows full well there are concerns about the Jedi within the Republic, and she's using our current problems with the psychosis as a spring board for her anti-Jedi sentiment." Tresina said darkly, sipping her brandy as she did so.

"What does she have against the Jedi anyway?" Kyp asked curiously and Wynn, standing behind Releqy, was the one who answered.

"At the moment, quite a lot. Sixty years ago she was one of their greatest supporters." He said, smiling humourlessly, and Tionne looked at him in confusion.

"That would have been around the time of the purge wouldn't it?" she asked, and Releqy nodded.

"That's exactly the point Master Solusar. Before the start of the Clone Wars, Kuat was wealthy yes. However, with the Jedi gone there was no one to curb vast military spending, and of course the Emperor placed the orders for all his Star Destroyers there, which of course made people like Treen very rich. Now of course the Jedi are back and act as a restraint upon the government, so she isn't making as much money and we aren't spending as much anyway because the Jedi help us to keep the peace, so there's no need for as large a war machine and hence no need for vast military spending, so she loses out." She explained and Kenth scowled.

"And now she's beginning to build up on anti-Jedi sentiment." He said, and Releqy nodded, her expression guarded.

"Indeed she is. Which is what worries me to be honest. She passed that law all too easily, and far too many people on my side supported the amendment when they ought not to have. The Jedi's popularity is waning, and forces are rising against you within the Senate. Be wary my friends." She warned, and Tionne nodded.

"We will be Chief Ak'la. Will this new law affect those already out in the field?" she asked, and Releqy shook her head.

"No, the law came into effect after their departure. Admiral Bwua'tu also informs me that the new law will not affect those on military missions, such as those assisting Admiral Limpan with the Vong and pirates, he cites security concerns, where we all know he just wants to screw over Treen." She said, and Kenth looked at her.

"And what of the Council, are we to be subject to this law?" he asked, and she fixed him with a cold glare.

"You're a Jedi are you not? So yes. I might not like the law but I will see it upheld. If you leave after tomorrow morning you will be subject to the same laws." She said, and he wisely went quiet.

"If I may Chief Ak'la what's to stop the Jedi just ignoring the order?" Wynn asked, and Releqy turned to face the Council beadily.

"Because I'm sure our friends here will uphold the law no matter what, even if they disagree. Isnt that right Master Solusar?" she asked and Tionne nodded.

"Yes Chief Ak'la, of course. Anything to keep the peace with Treen." She said and Releqy nodded.

"Good. You will of course send as many missions out as possible tonight?" she asked hopefully, and Tresina nodded.

"Obviously. I have a mission I must see to, and Kyle wishes to investigate something. What are the policies on personal trips?" she asked curiously and Releqy shrugged.

"They're unobserved for now, so Kyle ought to be fine even if he leaves in the morning. So, you lot will continue trying to defuse the civil wars appearing all over the place, coordinating the accession of the new planets to the Alliance and helping track down Collonzas. Correct?" she asked, and they nodded.

"Correct. And now Chief Ak'la, I must be off, so if you'll excuse me." Tresina said, and the others all rose too.

Releqy nodded.

"Quite right, escape while you can. Good luck on your mission Master Lobi. I will see you all later. Good night." She said, and with that the four Jedi turned to leave the office.

"Oh, one last thing, be wary of how you appear in public. Treen is getting her ammunition from the psychosis and general discontent in the public, the last thing we need is to give her more ammunition." She advised as the Jedi left.

"We still haven't told her." Tionne said quietly as they left her office.

"Master Skywalker told us not to, and it isn't an Alliance matter, it's a Jedi matter. We keep it to ourselves." Kenth hissed, but Tresina and Kyp didn't look so convinced.

"I don't know Kenth, I don't like keeping stuff from Chief Ak'la, she is on our side. And considering Treen seems to be out for our blood, we kind of need her to stay on side." Tresina reasoned, and Tione frowned.

"And what is more if she should find out we were keeping information from her, she may not help us. And even worse, if Treen finds out we were keeping information from her, it will give her a lot of firepower we could do without her having her hands on." She said, but Kenth shook his head.

"No, we will follow our instructions, we weren't to inform Chief Ak'la of our diminishing ability to use the Force, and that's that. Master Skywalker's orders were clear. In his absence we must run the Order as he wanted it run." He said firmly, and though they looked worried, Tionne and Tresina nodded reluctantly.

Behind them, Kyp scowled. He'd always argued that this was the problem with the Council, they didn't have the guts to do anything themselves. If Luke was away, by and large they preferred just to maintain the status quo. However, as recent events were showing, that often wasn't in their best interests. He could only hope that their decision to stick to the plan didn't bite them in the behind.

And to ensure that it didn't, perhaps he ought to have a chat with other Council members. Just to be safe.

XX

The world of Blaudu Sextus was the most recent world to have freed the slaves. The owners of the Octusi, who had them working down the mines and treated them fairly well, they just didn't respect galactic employment laws, had had virtually no choice. Freedom Flight agitators had inflamed the local population, causing complete havoc as the Octusi had stopped working until they were made free. Fearful of total economic collapse, their superiors had given in and now the Octusi were free to vote, were no longer constrained by their masters, and had a say and s voice in the government, despite only being semi-sentient. As soon as they were free they had requested that Blaudu Sextus join the Alliance, which is what had brought the _Parabola_, a Zebulon frigate from the Sixth Fleet to the orbit of the planet. Madhi looked up as the ship passed over the sun, a tiny but noticeable speck as it circled over the capital once again, while their agent on the ground, a Jedi no less, negotiated their entry into the Alliance.

"Madhi?" Shohta asked, and she frowned.

"It's nothing Shohta, just wondering what the hell is going on in the heads of the Alliance military. You realise the entire Sixth Fleet is spread out across the galaxy, making first contact with the planets that now want to join the Alliance?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either. But now this is the thirty seventh world that's had a major change of policy in regards to slavery in the past month, I reckon we're winning the war, slowly but surely." He said, and while she smiled, she wasn't quite so convinced.

They had made great progress, that was for sure, there certainly no denying that slavery was beginning a long, drawn out and economically painful death, at least to those who were the masters. To the slavers, it was beginning a death they had sought all their lives, and the start of a new life where they could be free and start anew. And progress had certainly been made. Ryloth, Orvax (the political backlash in the Senate aside), Malastare, Vinsoth, Tatooine, Klatooine, Qaras, and now Blaudu Sextus, they were all very well and good. Freedom Flight was continuing its actions, and it seemed like Xilxash was the next planet to begin a slave revolt, as all of the slave owners were very rapidly abandoning the planet in light of an increasingly violent and incensed slave class. They had made amazing progress. Indeed, planets such as B'Nish and Herdessa also seemed to be moving to a new, fairer society where oppression would be ended.

But there were still major problems in the campaign against slavery. Slaving hubs such as Thalassia, Pavilion and Ereesus still existed, and, though very sporadically, in the core itself, Kidiet Olgo being the prime example. The Thalassians, T'Surr and Zygerrians were prime examples of culture's whose entire existence was based around slavery and they would endure as long as possible.

But the largest problems were the two main forces of slavery in the galaxy. Slavers, a horrible breed by nature, wouldn't stop until they had no place left to sell and even then they would still try and struggle on. The Corporate Sector, lawless Outer Rim planets and of course Hutt Space were all still profitable markets, despite the embargo upon Alliance/Imperial/Hapan trading in Hutt space. Slavery had also recently taken on a champion in the form of Nazarn, and it had reached the ears of the wider galaxy that he was still fighting for slavery in the galactic arms, despite interference from Admiral Daala.

The biggest problem however remained the Hutts. While they persisted with slavery, there would never be a true victory. The Treaty of Vontor, though collapsing, still held many species in thrall to the Hutts, though the Klatoonians were beginning to protest all over Hutt space, actively fighting their masters and starting rebel movements. Planets in Hutt space were beginning to question their masters, and the seeds were being sown, albeit very slowly. But Freedom Flight and the Klatoonian resistance was struggling, and they were getting nowhere fast. And slavery remained implacable in Hutt space. And until the practice was ended in its homeland, there could be no eradicating it across the galaxy.

Madhi had tried to help, and had made her report, earning her the highest viewings the channel had ever seen and earning her a nomination for a Pulsar Prize. But there was still little progress.

As Madhi and Shohta continued to think on slavery, inside the capital building a dozen or so feet away, Barratk'l, the Jedi assigned to direct Blaudu Sextus' entry into the Alliance, suppressed a groan. This mission was seriously trying her patience, and as a fairly patient woman at the best of times, combined with her Jedi training, that took a lot to do. The Octusi, being semi-sentient, were actually the least of her worries. Their leader, a fairly enlightened fellow, knew what he wanted and made it quite clear, and the terrified owners largely agreed.

Except for one.

His name was Anyul. He wasn't even from Blaudu Sextus, he had been hired by the terrified former slave owners to represent their interests. And now he was determined to stop the change and wanted to put the Octusi back in the mines where he felt they belonged.

"Why should we allow them to do this? These ignorant savages have been riled up by Freedom Flight, this isn't what they truly want. So, as this isn't their true thought, they can go back to the mines where they belong and stop this nonsense. If not, then we can always take measures to stop their protests." He said nastily, and Barratk'l narrowed her eyes.

"May I ask what your problem is? The Octusi are a harmless species who simply want better rights for themselves, which they have earned after centuries of dedicated service. Who are you to tell them they shouldn't have it? The ruling council has agreed, they've applied for membership to the Alliance, all that remains now is to finish the process. Why are you so determined to stop them?" she asked suspiciously, and he gave her a cold smile.

"I was hired to represent the interests of the mining colonies and the Octusi are no longer in those best interests. They have directly undermined the status quo and have brought industry on this world to a standstill. I have been placed here to bring this world back to the way it was before the Octusi started to get ideas above their station. I am here to restore things back to the way they were, and that means putting the Octusi back in their place." He said smugly, and she glowered at him this guy was really straining her Jedi patience.

"Unfortunately that isn't possible. The race has already been run, the promises have been made." She said, and he smirked.

"That's why we hired them." He said arrogantly, nodding towards the door, and she saw a group of men, all of them rather large, dressed in black armour and holding heavy assault rifles.

"Mercenaries?" she demanded in alarm, and several of the board members got to their feet.

"This has gone on far enough we only hired you to secure our interests, not suppress the Octusi." The leader of the board exclaimed incredulously, eyeing the mercs in alarm.

Barratk'l was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this, and she wasn't liking it one bit.

"You hired me to put things back to normal, the Octusi are refusing. Now we will put them back by threat of force and if that doesn't work, well the blasters do more than look threatening." He purred and Barratk'l could feel the dark side rising. The board members had indeed not wanted this to happen, and the Octusi were looking around in fear.

"We have already had several of the ringleaders sent back to the mines. Now, tell their leader to call off this nonsense or else things might get ugly."

"Now see here Anyul, this has gone on far enough! What are you trying to do, start a full scale rebellion? We've allowed them what they wanted, take it away now and they will retaliate. Send these mercs home!" the governor yelled frantically, as he as well as Barratk'l could feel that the Octusi were getting angrier and angrier, and the leader was beginning to give off the sense that he wished to cause harm to Anyul (a feeling she could sympathise with).

And then it suddenly clicked, and everything became clear. Causing a revolt was exactly what he wanted. She had no idea why but the hiring of the mercs, bringing them to the meeting, his general demeanour...he intended to cause a revolt. But if that was the case, who was the target, the unionists or the Octusi?

"That's exactly what he wants to do. The only thing I can't figure is why." She said, her hand going to her lightsaber, and Anyul smiled menacingly.

"Gentlemen, you have your orders!" he said with callous excitement and Barratk'l turned to all present, Force pushing those standing to the floor while yelling to the others.

"Down!" she yelled, her cyan blade igniting to block bolts from the mercs as they opened fire with their heavy blasters.

Anyul backed away from the mercs as laser fire filled the room but the Yuzzem Jedi was already on the move, deflecting one shot into the face of a merc before twirling through the air and slicing through two of them. The remaining three backed away, focusing all their firepower on her but her skill was too great, the deflected shots taking them in the gut or chest as she advanced towards Anyul, who didn't seem remotely bothered about the danger he was now in.

"What do you seek to gain from igniting a conflict here?" she asked suspiciously, and Anyul grinned mockingly.

"Haven't you figured it out yet Jedi?" he sneered, and she reached into the Force, trying to figure out his aims, why he was doing this because it didn't make sense. Why would anyone want to cause a conflict on a slave world?

Of course.

An all out armed conflict between masters and former slaves would reduce a lot of the momentum of the slavery movement, slowing the entire process up. As they had applied for Alliance protection it would also mean the Alliance would have to get involved, involving them and most likely the Jedi in a drawn out civil war. It would also reduce the legitimacy of the Octusi claim, and the impact upon the world's economy would also be considerable, which would soon have an effect throughout the sector as well.

"You planned to derail the entire process here, spread a conflict that would weaken the Alliance and the anti-slavery lobby. But...the dark side, I thought it was the threat from the mercs, but it isn't just that." She said in realisation.

However she realised she had to hurry this up. Outside there were sounds of blaster fire, it sounded like there were other mercs who even now could be precipitating a full blown conflict between the Octusi and their former masters.

"No it isn't Jedi." He said in cold contempt, and reached around the back of his belt, and it suddenly all fit together, and Barratk'l's cyan blade blocked his red one before it took her head off.

"A Dark Jedi!" the union leader exclaimed in shock, peering out from the protective shelter of his Octusi opposite.

"No. Sith." Barratk'l whispered in shock, but his grin let her know she was right.

The Sith then broke off the saber lock, slashing at her face. The large Yuzzem back pedalled, turning to block a lunge on his part before swiping at him with her claws outstretched. The Sith hissed in annoyance, barely avoiding the blow but his effort had left him at a disadvantage that the Jedi immediately exploited, her blade hammering down on his defences. The Sith blocked the attack time and time again, however, relentless as she was he couldn't fend off Barratk'l. She pressed him out of the office, their blades sending sparks flying from the walls as she forced him out into the street.

And it was out there that she saw how much he had overplayed his hand. Both unionist and Octusi forces, despite taking severe losses by the looks of the numbers of bodies on the ground, were joining forces to fend off the attacking mercanaries. Over in the corner, the reporter Madhi Vaandt was recording the scenes, but as soon as her Chevin companion saw the duel going on she immediately changed to record that.

Anyul snarled, flipping away from Barratk'l, casting lightning at her as he did so. She quickly raised her saber to block the attack before grabbing disturbed rubble and throwing it at her opponent in a cascade. With him busy evading the attack she cleared the entire square in one leap before landing deftly, her blade slicing straight up for his head. Anyul was already on the move, batting the blade away deftly before renewing his offensive, snarling as he did so, lunging here and their, blocking and feinting as he tried to defeat the Jedi. Jumping up to a small wall, she swung down to try and cleave her opponent in two, but instead he flipped over her head, landing deftly and stabbing upwards, ready to plunge his blade into her back. Barratk'l threw herself forward, turning and slashing upwards with her saber, knocking him off balance. She then slashed with her claws, ripping open his face, making the Sith cry out in pain. She then slashed down his chest and as he reeled from her attack, she leaned forward and stabbed through his chest, her blade punching right through his heart. The Sith gave a weak groan as he looked up at her in disbelief, blood running from above his eye as his body crumpled to the wall, the battle over.

She then turned to the reporting team, and threw her lightsaber. Madhi screamed and leapt to the floor, resulting in the Barada behind her screeching in pain as the ignited saber cut through his chest, dropping him to the ground. Madhi looked at him and Barratk'l in shock before hesitantly making her way over to the Jedi, eyeing the blaster the Barada had been wielding warily.

"Thank you master Jedi, did you just save my life?" she asked in shock and Barratk'l nodded.

"Indeed I did. He was about to shoot you." She said in disdain as GA security, sent down from the ship in orbit, arrived in the square, the commanding officer coming towards her.

"Master Jedi, what's the situation?" he asked and she pointed to the capital building.

"I don't think the two parties ought to come to blows anymore, I seem to have dealt with the problem, all that remains is hunting down the last of the mercs before they can carry out Anyul's plan." She said and he saluted smartly and ran towards the capital building.

"That was amazing." Madhi said, pointing to Anyul's body and she nodded appreciatively, but her face was clouded.

"Yes but it shouldn't have been necessary. Tell you what, I'll offer you a deal. If you let me use your ship's comm, I'll give you an interview." She said and Madhi grinned.

"Yeah that would be brilliant." She said cheerfully and the Yuzzem led the Devaronian over to the fallen Barada, her eyes narrowed.

The Barada didn't have long to live, however she didn't have long to interrogate him. Fortunately she didn't need him alive all that long to tell her what she needed to know.

"Why did you try to kill this woman?" she asked and he answered her in a raspy voice.

"The Hutt Council didn't like her report on Hutt slaving practices. Zonnos ordered her dead." He answered and Madhi looked aghast as the Barada, his last life spent, expired before them.

"I'll kill Ackmena!" Madhi vowed and Barratk'l looked at her in surprise.

"You know Ackmena?" she asked and Madhi's face changed, her expression becoming one of realisation.

"You're one of the Jedi in-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll hit you with my lightsaber." Barratk'l hissed, looking around nervously.

"Maybe we should carry this on back on my ship." Madhi said, and the Jedi nodded.

"Lead on good lady."

XX

"A Sith Lord?" Kyp demanded in shock as she finished her report to the holographic Council, but Barratk'l shook her head.

"I don't think so, if he was a proper Sith Lord I wouldn't be here. My guess is that he was either an apprentice or some form of Sith Knight." She reasoned, and Tionne frowned.

"The Sith haven't used knights since the end of the New Sith Wars, Darth Bane changed the Sith so there wouldn't be a need for them anymore." She explained, and Barratk'l shrugged.

"That's what he seemed like."

"Are you sure he wasn't just some Dark Jedi pretending?" Kenth asked and Barratk'l shrugged.

"He didn't deny being a Sith and his dedication and fighting skills, he's had serious training. And besides, to be a Dark Jedi wouldn't we know about him?" she asked and Kenth frowned.

"Most likely, however I don't believe he can be a Sith. We'd have felt them." He said stubbornly, and Octa clicked her tongue in disappointment.

"Not necessarily. The old Order didn't know the Sith had returned until it was too late. And with our powers suffering the way they have been, the Sith could easily have returned without us knowing." She reasoned, and Cilghal looked musingly off into space.

"A return of the Sith could help explain the current chaos within the Alliance, they could be exploiting it for their own ends." She said, and Kam nodded.

"Exactly. Barratk'l, send the body back to Coruscant, Cilghal can examine it, see if she can't find anything else that might be helpful. Until we know more though, we shouldn't let the knowledge that there is a potential Sith threat out, even to Chief Ak'la. We need to investigate this further. Barratk'l, tell no one that you think it was a Sith who attacked you." He ordered and she frowned.

"That might be difficult. He confronted me in the peacemaking session so all the leaders know or at least suspect, and Madhi Vaandt was here, she filmed me fighting him." She said, and Tresina, not actually on Coruscant like the rest of the Council, frowned thoughtfully.

"Actually that might work to our advantage, it might get Treen off our tail for a bit. Ask her if she would do an interview with you, you know, spin it 'brave Jedi saves nascent liberal movement from evil Dark Jedi', that sort of thing." She encouraged, and Barratk'l nodded.

"I already promised her an interview in exchange for this call, I felt I had to report in immediately. I'll also try and get her to my next destination, I can't use the _Parabola_, that's staying here to assist the locals in their investigation of the mercs. As she's covering the slave revolts, I figure I can ask her to give me a lift." She said, and the Council nodded.

"Very well. So you'll continue with the slave revolts?" Kyle asked and she nodded.

"If there's no disagreement." She said, and there were none so the Council flickered out.

On the bridge, Madhi was preparing the ship for lift off when Barratk'l joined her.

"Thank you for your assistance. I wonder if I might impose on you further?" she asked, and the Devaronian looked at her curiously.

"I came out on the frigate in orbit and as that will be staying here I find myself in need of a ship. Could I trouble you for a lift?" she asked and Madhi nodded hesitantly.

"Well of course, provided it's not too out of the way, we're heading to Xilxash." She said and the Yuzzem grinned.

"Which happens to be where I'm heading too, I think we have much the same aims my friend." She said and Madhi smiled and indicated for the Jedi to sit down.

"I've asked Ackmena, she's delighted we're working together. Not so delighted with the tongue lashing I gave her, the report was her idea and now the Hutts are trying to assassinate me." She said, and Barratk'l looked at her musingly.

"Well it seems to me that we're in a unique position here. You are travelling the worlds related to the slavery crisis or the equality crisis or both in order to cover the stories they present you with. As a Jedi and a member of Freedom Flight, I also need to go to such worlds to help ensure a peaceful resolution and to protect the interests of the newly liberated underclasses. You also have a Hutt death mark against you, and I am a fairly useful friend to have in such a situation. So..." she began and Shohta nodded eagerly.

"Makes sense to me. We give her a ride, we get first hand information and get to go to all the hot spots, along with exclusive interviews with a Jedi on the ground. She can also help protect you from any more Hutt assassination attempts." He explained and Madhi grinned.

"Seems like a win win from where I'm standing. Isn't there an Alliance presence on Xilxash already?" she asked and Barratk'l nodded.

"Yes, but they have asked for Jedi arbitration and with the Senate's 'inspired' new idea to babysit all Jedi in the field with a security team it'll take too long for anyone else to get there. If we leave now you can get your story and I can do my bit." She said and Madhi nodded.

"Sounds good, but won't the Senate get their pants in a twist if you don't get a minder?" she asked and Barratk'l grinned grimly.

"They can't do anything, I was already out in the field when it came into effect and I don't intend to return home for a while. Besides, being part of Freedom Flight my mission is also personal which means they can't mind me then either. And just in case I do go nuts I will put my saber in your safe when we are travelling." She said, and Madhi smiled.

"Well in that case it's good to have you aboard Master Barratk'l. Let's get out of here. Oh and Ackmena wanted me to ask if you know anyone who might be willing to take a more, violent, approach to the war on slavery?" she asked, and Barratk'l and Shohta looked at her curiously.

"She intends to use Force against the Hutts?" Shohta asked and Madhi shrugged, though she suspected that was her eventual aim.

"Perhaps. An anti-slavery private army, a good idea but in some ways a bad one. Perhaps we should discuss it at length once we're in lightspeed. And," the Yuzzem said with a smile, "I believe I owe you an interview?"

Madhi smiled as she sent the _Shooting Star_ straight for space, having a Jedi on board could make for the biggest stories of her career.

XX

"A report from Saber Khai, he is continuing his pursuit of the Skywalkers." Lady Rhea informed Vol over the holocomm, and he nodded.

"Excellent. I intend to take a personal interest myself, we leave within the hour. And our plans, do they move apace?" he asked, and she nodded, a dark smile on her face.

"Yes my lord. We have taken over several news stations and media outlets, and are beginning to spread anti-Jedi sentiment. We've discovered enclaves on several worlds, including Ossus, Dathomir and Corellia, any of which we could feasibly attack if that is your wish. We've also begun raids on Alliance depots, and have been hiring mercenaries to spread dissent and chaos throughout the Alliance. We've also been assassinating officers so our forces can assume their position. We're also influencing the anti-slavery campaign, trying to incite violence on as many worlds as possible, which we're doing along with encouraging civil war on the planets already at loggerheads. Very soon the Alliance will fall apart under its own steam." She reported and Vol smiled.

"Excellent, I knew you would all implement my plans brilliantly. Yet you seem troubled." He said, and Rhea scowled.

"Saber Anyul overplayed his hand. Blaudu Sextus remains at peace, the mercs we hired are dead, and what is more the Jedi are now aware of us, one killed him." She grumbled, but Vol didn't look too concerned.

"For now all they can do is guess. And it is only one planet, not important. Relay the order to continue to all agents. Lord Taalon is to lead operations here at Korriban while I hunt for the Skywalkers. I am eager to test myself against Skywalker and Lumiya. Also, Lord Yur is investigating the possibility of a new home for us, Korriban is too crowded. I want you to give him every support, understood?" he asked, and she nodded.

"As you desire Lord Vol, it shall be done." She said and the holo flickered out.

Sending the all clear signal, Vol smiled as the _Crimson Oath_, his flagship, a blood red _Victory_ class Star Destroyer departed Korriban. Too long had the Tribe been in the shadows. Now it was their time. The Jedi, the One Sith, the Rule of Two, all would fall to the glory of the Tribe. They, not the others, would rule the galaxy.

And he, not Lumiya, not Krayt and not Vongerella, would be the Dark Lord of the Sith.

And it was time he proved himself worthy of that station: by killing Luke Skywalker.

XX

AlGray, on the bridge of the _Kendall_, grimaced as she saw the long cooled wreckage. She had told Ducha Myar not to trust that intelligence. She had received a tip off that Tenel Ka was moving Allana on board another Battle Dragon so she would be safe in a fortress on Rainboh. However, AlGray, knowing Tenel Ka wouldn't allow Allana out of her sight had warned her that it was clearly a false trail, and as a result Myar's faction, consisting of four Battle Dragons, twelve support ships and seven Nova cruisers had either been wiped out or taken by the Royalist faction. It also meant that AlGray was down a vital supporter and had had to work even harder to prevent the Knot Hole worlds from either being taken or defecting from the Heritage Council. They had however been unsuccessful and the various families in the Knot Holes, taking their lead from Ducha Pylor, Ducha of Chosper and Protector of Telkur Station, had appealed to Tenel Ka and had been let in, significantly damaging the separatist war movement and confirming their renewed alliance to Tenel Ka less than two hours ago.

And this was the second loss they had sustained this week. An attack on Orelon, designed to be a quick strike mission, had been undone by the superior Royalist intelligence, resulting in the loss of four more Battle Dragons and numerous support ships as they made their escape. It had not been a good week. AlGray fumed as she looked out of the viewport at the damage that had been done. She had always known that the civil war would be a messy business, but she was losing ships from her side quicker than she was replenishing them and if she intended to carry out she and Galney's plan, she had to up her game.

She turned to face her holoviewer, contacting Galney. At the moment the numbers were still roughly equal in the terms of the conflict, but that could change at any time. What was more, which all of the Hapan worlds were rich, Tenel Ka, by virtue of the fact that she controlled the vast majority of the interior along with the most planets (including Gallinore, Rainboh and Hapes itself) controlled all of the most wealthy worlds in the cluster, which meant that eventually Tenel Ka would be able to outspend them all. On top of that, the queen had Alliance support, which was something AlGray simply didn't have.

Galney scowled as her face materialised in the viewscreen, glaring at her.

"Are you trying to expose me? If the Royalists intercept this transmission, everything will fall apart!" she hissed and AlGray scowled.

"I'm aware of that. But we've taken heavy losses already and what's more, we won't be able to beat her Alliance support, how are we meant to make any progress against the Royalists?" she asked and Galney made a gesture that was obviously meant to calm her down, not that it had much effect.

"I'm aware we have taken losses, and before you ask my acting now won't do you much good, we must wait until the time is right before I reveal myself and turn on the queen. Now, the Knot Holes are of little threat, their contributions are fairly minimal to the Royalist faction." She said, and AlGray glared at her.

"Maybe to Tenel Ka but to us they weren't, and now we've lost their capabilities! This was your plan Galney, but I'm the one taking all the risks." She seethed, disgruntled and Galney rolled her eyes.

"Are you quite finished? Calm down, this isn't the end it's barely the beginning. Now listen to me. We can't do anything until we achieve a genuine victory against the Royalists, put ourselves on the map. And we need to do it soon, otherwise your rebellion will peter out and Hapes will remain unchanged. The problem is, we cannot triumph against the Royalists until we remove the support of the Alliance. It is the Alliance protection that gives Tenel Ka the initiative, take that away and several loyalties will be up for grabs once again. And if we can do that, we also serve our purposes by putting ourselves on the map and proving that we can hurt the Royalists." She explained, and AlGray nodded, she had figured out as much for herself.

"Yes but how do we do it?" she asked irritably, and Galney smiled maliciously.

"We remove her Alliance friends from the equation. We expand!" she hissed, and AlGray smiled.

"And if we take one of their worlds, even if it is our side..."

"It will also impact upon Tenel Ka's relationship with them and the Senate will vote to remove all aid from her. Either way it's a win for us, and we will also have the benefits Vena will bring to the table. Either way, the Alliance will officially dissociate itself with the war in order to avoid being dragged in to our conflict, and Tenel Ka will be vulnerable. And a vulnerable queen means uneasy duchas and uneasy duchas mean we can replace our losses. So, avoid all conflicts with the Royalists for now and prepare to move on Vena." She said, and AlGray nodded.

"What of the Alliance forces?"

"Deal with them. Vena wants to leave the Alliance, but due to Collonzas' attack they can't because as a result elements of the Second Fleet were parked in orbit, and they're also there to make sure we behave ourselves. So if we attack their fleet..."

"The Alliance won't have a choice, they'll need to back off for fear of actually starting a war with us, we take Vena and undermine Tenel Ka. I'll get right on it." She said cheerfully, and Galney favoured her with a final glower.

"And do not contact me again!" she warned before her holo flickered out.

AlGray ignored her, thinking. The Heritage Council, due to it being her idea, was mostly in support of her aims, which had always included expansion. Why should Hapes remain static when the rest of the major powers were continually changing? She had been forced to put it on the backburner, mainly due to the influence of less extreme Duchas as Pylor being on the Council, but now with her gone, her extremists carried the majority.

It was time for Hapes to make a name for itself, gone were the days of isolation and idleness and being called to fight the Alliance's wars. Now was Hapes turn to take its place on the galactic stage.

And she was the director.

Smiling, she headed for the bridge.

XX

"The information is good?" Director Kalenda asked and Tenel Ka, sitting on her throne on the _Dragon Queen_, nodded grimly.

"Yes. The separatists are preparing a major military strike and our intelligence indicates that they could very well intend to strike outside of the sector. We have identified one of their staging areas and as soon as we finish here I will lead an attack on the staging area to try and stop them. But, as it was Vena AlGray mentioned when she initially split from my authority..."

"You figured Vena could very well be in danger. But it would be suicide to attack Vena, Admiral Klauskin is there with the majority of the Second Fleet." She said, and Tenel Ka waved her hand dismissively.

"Perhaps not. Our intelligence points to Klauskin investigating us by putting his ships within the Transitory Mists. Which is espionage." Tenel Ka said gravely and Kalenda frowned.

"I assure you Queen Mother he isn't meant to be doing that. If he's spread his fleet out and AlGray attacks the result could be catastrophic." She said and Tenel Ka nodded.

"I'm well aware of that. And if the news we have is true and he is spying on us my situation will become all the more tenuous and give some genuine firepower to the separatists which I can't risk at the moment, I just won over a few worlds I don't want to lose more. So, either restrain him if you please or remove him before he makes me situation any more untenable than it is already, believe me, it doesn't need any help." She said, and Kalenda nodded.

"Admiral Niathal just returned, I'll get her to have words. Chief Ak'la has informed me that she authorised Admiral Bwua'tu to dispatch a task force to help you. It should be there within two days." She reported and Tenel Ka nodded.

"Tell her I'm grateful. With your forces and my own supporters, my attack on their staging area could hopefully break the rebellion, at least that's what I hope. And if Klauskin is withdrawn in order to fully protect Vena, then between the lot of us we can hopefully smash this rebellion before it goes any further. That's the plan anyway. And the Lorell Raiders have disappeared again, which is a great help, which means once we deal with AlGray this chaos should come to an end." She said, the relief hinting in her voice and Kalenda smiled.

"I hope so your majesty. All the best. Good hunting." She said, and the link to Coruscant flickered out.

Tenel Ka's smile of farewell devolved into a frown. Klauskin was being very foolish, risking his fleet in an active theatre of war, especially with what they were fighting about. And she couldn't help but feel she was being set up. The staging area, there was something about it...

"Admiral Espara, signal the fleet. Set a course for the separatists staging area!" she ordered.

She could only hope the bad feeling she had would pass when she got there.

XX

"Prakith, Ziost and now Thule, you know Lumiya, if we survive all this, we're going to drag you to a light side world." Leia grumbled as they made their way away from where they had landed the ship.

Thule, like Prakith, also had a fairly substantial population, however their cities were on the other side of the planet, away from the savannahs that were perpetually bombarded by lightning storms. However, that of course was where they currently were, and while the lightning had died down, the winds certainly hadn't.

"I might even let you. Could someone else take her? My arms may be metal but the shoulder part still gets tired." The Sith grumbled, and Jacen, grinning, relieved her of her burden.

Due to Alema not having enough of a set of limbs in order to balance herself, she was at risk of being blown away by the severe winds, as they had discovered when she had been blown back into the ship as soon as they left. Refusing to allow her to stay behind, Han had insisted that as her guardian Lumiya could drag the Dark Jedi around with her in some horrible mimicry of having a pet. Alema, surprisingly, had been fairly open to this suggestion and was now plodding along cheerfully, her walker anchoring her to the ground every time the wind picked up.

Another rumble of thunder echoed over the plains just as the temple they were seeking came into sight. The sheer wind was getting worse, and rocks were starting to come lose.

"Maybe we should look for some shelter, before this wind gets any worse!" Jaina yelled, bracing herself against the wind, while Luke and Mara held onto Jacen before he and Alema flew up into the air.

"Agreed! Most nasty place." K'kruhk said, and Ben looked at him curiously.

"Did you fight here in the Clone Wars?" he asked, and K'kruhk shook his head.

"No, I was leading an army to Teyr at the time, I wasn't part of the mission. Anakin was, as was Obi Wan, Luminara Unduli and Master Windu. I shall explain more when we get to safety." He assured him, clapping Ben on the shoulder, and Vestara pointed down the slope they now had to tackle.

"There's a warren or something down there, we can hide in there till this wind dies down a bit!" she cried, being knocked back a few paces before leading the way down, and the group eagerly made their way into the warren, which, due to the formation of rocks outside, was relatively sheltered from the extreme wind.

"That's better, now I can hear myself think." K'kruhk said as they all sat down, Leia sending a message to Han on the _Falcon_, currently in orbit to avoid the dangerous weather, that they were safe for now.

Jacen was surprised when Ben sat down beside him. Ever since Vestara had come aboard the two had always sat with each other, and had talked with each other, effectively forming their own mini group to the dismay of his parents. However, now Jacen came to think of it, he hadn't said a word to her since they'd arrived here, which was odd to say the least.

"Not that I'm complaining, but did you and Ves argue about something? Only you're sitting with me again and you two have been practically joined at the hip since she arrived." He said, and Ben scowled.

"No we didn't." He said curtly but firmly, and Jacen could see the conflicting emotions on his face.

"Ben what's wrong?" Jacen asked curiously, but Ben simply turned away, leaving his master very put out.

Lumiya, of course, noticed this and winked at Vestara who grinned as she sat down with her master.

"Where are we headed anyway? And more importantly can we avoid any more run ins with long dead Sith, that would be nice." Mara said, lighting a glow rod.

K'kruhk gestured to Lumiya, signifying she should take this question (Luke thought the two of them just liked telling stories, but wouldn't admit it to either or them).

"A Sith temple, in the ruins of the former capital, Hurom. The capital changed to Kessia after the New Sith Wars, leaving Hurom as an abandoned ruin. Of course Kessia is now abandoned too. The temple was built during the Great Sith War for dark side acolytes, ones with proficiency in sorcery and other such powers. However, the place was largely abandoned following the Great Sith War, the Republic armies, under the command of a young Lonna Vash, forced the Sith off the planet, leading to its abandonment. Following the end of the war, Darth Sion stayed here for a while, finding Massassi who had turned the place into a sort of memorial tomb for the Sith who fell in the battle here. He stayed here for some time, learning more about his condition before moving on. This place continued to exist as a memorial, though none of the Sith the Massassi honoured were particularly powerful, so by all rights we shouldn't encounter any spirits. Thule continued to exist, being incorporated into Revan's empire. Hurom fell apart in the time in between, making Kessia the new capital. The temple stood tall but the city fell into disrepair and died out. When Kaan came along, the temple once more became an academy for mystics and sorcerers, but once again the Jedi forced them off the world when they battled them towards Ruusan and ever since this part of Thule has been abandoned."

It was then that K'kruhk took over the tale.

"Quite so. The new capital, Kessia, was the site of the final battle of the Dark Reaper Crisis during the Clone Wars. The city was levelled during the battle, but even Master Yoda and Windu didn't dare head into the temple. The Sith here may not be powerful enough to have left an imprint, however the fallout from having an academy filled with dark side mystics and from the battle with the Dark Reaper, which is where it was defeated in the Great Sith War as well as the Clone Wars has left a dark echo on this world. And it is the mystics who may be able to help us, apparently they performed all sorts of twisted experiments, communions with the dark side and Sith spirits, all sorts of weird stuff. Perhaps they divined something about Abeloth in their sessions. And what is more, part of the Force Harvester is buried here, and the temple ought to have records on it. If we can find them, perhaps they can help explain Abeloth and the extent of her powers." He mused hopefully.

After a while, the storm died down slightly and they continued their trek to the ancient temple, a looming edifice set among a host of long shattered ruins. As the group progressed through, they were all on edge. The dark side was thick here, and they couldn't help but feel that once again they were being watched. The shadows in the ruins were playing tricks on their mind, and walking through them was slightly creepy. Eventually, they managed to enter the temple, once more earning themselves a relief from the cutting wind, and they shut the door behind them, locking them in the large, stale Sith temple.

"Alright, if we're going to be attacked can we get it out the way now, save messing about later?" Jaina asked hopefully, lighting a glow rod.

Ben looked around the place suspiciously.

"How come so much has happened on Thule, at least three battle in three big wars, and this place is still standing?" he asked, and Luke frowned, the kid did raise a good point.

"So people trying to save the galaxy can loot it for information? Come on." Mara said, leading the way, until Alema scarpered in front, delighted to be let off her lead.

"Like having your own pet kath hound." Lumiya muttered to Jacen and he sniggered.

The dark side was thick within the temple, and the deserted corridors were very eerie.

"Master, why are some bits of the ground lighter than others?" Vestara asked curiously, but it was Jaina who answered.

"That'll be where the bodies were." She said, and Vestara went quiet.

She did however look at Ben, who, as Lumiya had predicted, had been aloof with her all day. And she had been quiet, other than sending hurt and confused looks (not that she was, well, confused at least) in his direction. But as time went on, she realised she actually quite liked having him to talk to, a fact she was sure wasn't lost on her master.

"Ah, this looks promising." K'kruhk said, finding the door to the archives and shoving it open.

A few bones, most likely left over from the evacuation in the New Sith wars, littered the floor, and the brighter patches of floor made it clear that a massacre had happened here, especially when their lights threw the bloodstains on the floor and ceiling into sharp relief.

"Who do you reckon massacred who here?" Jacen asked curiously, crouching down to inspect it.

"The Sith must have ambushed the Jedi sent after them. Lured them in here and then killed them." Luke mused, also inspecting the floor, and Lumiya glared at him.

"Your side isn't guilty of massacres either Skywalker, the Jedi are just as bad." She told him tartly and he gave her a smug grin.

"The Bassadro incident was an accident."

"And Yavin? The Jedi's little wall of light effectively led the Massassi to genocide at the end of the Great Sith War." she said just as smugly, and her grin widened when his smile faltered.

"Besides, Jedi weren't the only troops in the Army of Light, there were many who were just normal joe blogs soldiers who would happily kill a roomful of defenceless Sith." K'kruhk said, as he and Jaina examined the shelves.

Ben rolled his eyes, making Jacen grin. Ben was clearly getting fed up of the constant squabble between the avatars of the two sides of the Force. While Jacen himself enjoyed it (he was only human and seeing his uncle lose a few rounds after everything was slightly gratifying, and Lumiya's retorts made it all the more fun) it was clearly affecting Ben, irritating him to the extreme. Throughout his apprenticeship Jacen had made clear that the Jedi way wasn't the only way, but it seemed as if Luke couldn't grasp that at all.

"Force Harvester!" Leia cried in victory from where she and Alema were investigating the bookcases, the books perfectly preserved in the stale environment.

As the others plodded down to what she had found, Vestara felt a slight draught, stopping her short. She approached the bookcase, still feeling the wisp of air.

"Hey Ben?" she asked hesitantly, and he turned, eyes hard, to face her.

Lumiya's words were working perfectly.

"What?" he asked sullenly and she looked at him curiously.

"Have I done something to upset you? You haven't said a word to me all day." She asked, making her voice sound slightly sad and affecting a slight pout.

Ben scowled, but he did feel slightly bad for making her feel bad, so he softened his voice when he replied to her.

"No, what have you found?" he asked, and she pointed to the bookcase.

"There's a draught coming from behind here. A secret room perhaps." She said and he moved closer to her in order to investigate.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lumiya saw this and smiled. Vestara truly was a pro.

Vestara began casting aside books, determined to get through the bookcase to discover what lay beyond and after some slight hesitation, Ben joined in. She then gave a cry of victory as she found two levers, set in a small alcove behind the bookcase.

"What do you reckon?" Ben asked curiously, and she frowned.

"Could mean anything." She replied, reaching to pull the lever.

"What have you pair found?" Jaina asked, and Vestara pointed.

"I think there's another room behind this bookcase, and I think this lever opens it. Why would there be a secret chamber off the library?" she asked and K'kruhk chuckled.

"A lifetime teaching adolescent Padawans has left me with no illusions about the answer to that question." He laughed, and Mara glared, the last thing she needed was him giving Ben ideas.

"A secret room. Well we've got everything we needed, let's find out what's in there." Leia said.

"Pull the lever Vestara!" Lumiya ordered, and Vestara promptly pulled the left hand lever. An instant later, the tile beneath Lumiya suddenly vanished and with a whimper, Lumiya plummeted out of sight, screaming as she went.

"Wrong leveeer!" she wailed as she fell, and the others all burst out laughing as they heard a splash far below them.

"Oops." Vestara said sheepishly as Luke and Ben laughed at Lumiya's misfortune, as the very wet and bedraggled Sith leapt out from the trap, gasping with cold and dripping wet.

"Why would they even have that lever? What a stupid place to put a trapdoor!" she cursed, opening the hatches on her metallic limbs and allowing the water she had just collected to stream out of her.

She then became aware of everyone laughing her (Vestara trying not to to her credit) and glared.

"One of these days...and Vestara, a word to the wise, laughing at your master is not a good career prospect." She hissed, wringing water out of her veil while Vestara struggled to maintain a straight face.

Realising the others weren't going to stop laughing at her until she gave them something else to fixate on, she decided they had waited around here long enough. And if she accidentally dropped one of the others down the trapdoor, well that would just be too bad.

"Get out of my way." She growled at Vestara, shoving past her apprentice and pulling the other lever.

The bookcase then slid from view, revealing the small room beyond, and curiously, Jacen led the way into the small room.

"Um K'kruhk? I think this might be the break we've been looking for." He said, pointing to the wall in reverence, and the Whiphid shoved Alema and Leia out of the way as he made for the room.

"A simple 'excuse me' would have sufficed." Leia grumbled, nodding with Alema who shared her look of indignation.

"You're right my boy, this could indeed be a turning point." K'kruhk said breathlessly as he looked around the small room.

Emblazoned on the wall was the figure of a woman, however rather than arms and legs it seemed as if she had spider legs coming from where her hands ought to be. Her eyes were made out of eerily glowing rubies, and emblazoned behind the image was a swirling black spiral, ringed with orange, clearly meant to be the Maw.

"Is that meant to be Abeloth?" Lumiya asked in shock and K'kruhk nodded slowly.

"I believe so." He said, and they all crammed into the small room.

"Look, figurines, carvings, paintings, all of them marked different things. 'The Stranded Soul', 'The Demon of the Dark', 'The Sacrifice', 'The Goddess of the Many Mouths', 'The Goddess of the Maw', 'The Abyssal Mouth', 'The Devourer', 'The Destroyer', 'The Servant', 'The Mistress', 'The Matron', 'The Bringer of Chaos', 'The Harbinger', 'The Shadow Lady' and... 'The End'." Jaina said nervously, reading the various inscriptions around the bases of the various depictions of her around the walls.

"These Sith knew about Abeloth? Impossible. How come no one found out about this before then, or found out about her?" Leia asked, looking at a scroll detailing what the Maw was, and it rightly said that it was a prison.

"Maybe they were the ones who were slaughtered? Maybe they intended to tell someone but then the Army of Light showed up and wiped them out before they could tell anyone?" Ben theorised, looking with morbid interest at some bloodied whips and knives, perfectly preserved in the small room.

"What do you reckon these are?" he asked Vestara, who, suppressing a genuine smile due to him talking to her again, approached and she frowned thoughtfully.

"Tools of self flagellation I expect. From the looks of this place, it was made as some sort of shrine to her, like a goddess would be. I expect that they prayed to her, made her their god, and if they failed her, they would punish themselves for it." She said, poking at a barbed whip experimentally.

Leia frowned as she picked up a large ledger, opening it. To her disappointment not a lot had been written in it, it was only basically an introduction. But, since it was in basic, she could read it, and her eyes began to widen in shock as she realised what she was reading.

"'For the first time, we surrendered ourselves completely to the will of the Force. For all these years, we have been shackled to our mortal coil, but the approach of the Jedi has encouraged us to take risks. We cannot escape Thule. They have blockaded all routes from the planet. We will die here, so what did we have to lose?

We together joined our minds, and cast ourselves free of our body. It was then that we felt her. A woman, beautiful yet terrifying, reached out to us across the mists of the Force. She claimed to be imprisoned, she wanted us to free her. We don't know how long we were there. She told us her tale, how she was imprisoned by those she had loved, then abandoned, sealed away from that which she loved. We wanted to help her. She was beyond shadows, but we had to help her. She told us what to do, to love her, praise her, spread news of her to make her strong, and if they didn't believe, we had to punish them, and ourselves should we falter. We made a promise and, to keep it, we returned to our mortal bodies.

We began collating everything we knew on the Goddess. We wrote down all she had told us, her tale, and to honour her we drew her, sculpted her, all to show our love for the Stranded Soul in the Maw. And every time we communed with her, we felt her get more powerful, happier, better, all due to our love. Her power was rising, she was beginning to reach from the shadows to touch the minds and hearts of her faithful retainers. She adored what we had done, the beautiful pictures and sculptures we had done of her, and she praised us. However, she illustrated her displeasure. One of us had faltered in his beliefs, and she sensed it. A dark tentacle appeared from the shadows, grabbed him, and dragged his screaming body into nothingness, and when we later returned to our bodies, all that was left was dust. We vowed to keep serving her, working to free her.

We have served her loyally and faithfully, but she says she cannot help us against the Jedi. They are only hours away. We intend to go beyond shadows one last time, to see our goddess before the end. We leave this record in the hopes that someone will discover about our dark and beautiful lady, and one day free her from her prison.'"

The entire group looked at each other nervously as Leia finished the account in the ledger, and it was Luke who found his voice first.

"Now we're getting somewhere. We're taking it all." He said, and K'kruhk nodded.

"I agree, any information about her can only aid us. Though I believe we can leave the tools for mutilation and the pictures, the information however is essential. Let us take it, and quickly, being in a room dedicated to something as powerful and evil as Abeloth is giving me the collywobbles." He said, casting furtive glances around and with that they began collecting the things in the rooms.

"Interesting that Vestara found this place." Mara said musingly to Jacen and he looked at his aunt curiously.

"How do you mean?" he asked, picking up another likely looking document.

"Well we need help, and she happened to find it, its like the Force is moving us towards Abeloth. Maybe that means it wants us to be doing this." She mused, and Jacen nodded conceding the point.

"Maybe, because if not, it wants us exterminated which I reckon is also a possibility." He said, and she scowled at him, continuing to pack up the room.

After they had finished, they moved with their gains towards the door, when Luke suddenly stopped, and as he was leading the group it brought them all to an abrupt halt.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Alema demanded angrily, and Luke held up a hand, quieting her.

"We're not alone here." He said grimly, and rather than question the others all spread out with their senses.

"I hate it when he's right." Mara groaned, feeling the presences beneath them.

"Could it be the Massassi?" Jaina asked hopefully, but Jacen shook his head.

"Sorry sis, they're too advanced to be the Massassi, whoever they are, they're fully sentient. And powerful in the dark side." He said, and Leia looked back down the corridor from whence they had came.

"They aren't following us, it's like they're just standing around outside, but they're not even at the door that would mean we would have to go through them, they're at the back. And focused on something, something big and important." She said, and Alema looked at Lumiya, her head cocked curiously.

"Could they be Sith?" the Dark Jedi asked, and Lumiya nodded slowly.

"You might be right, they could very well be Sith. Vestara, can you sense anything about them?" she asked, and the Sith girl shook her head.

"No master, if they are actually Sith, I don't think they're any of the Tribe, which means they must belong to Darth Krayt." She spat in disgust, and Luke looked at Mara, who nodded warily. They had to investigate. If they were indeed Sith, their presence on Thule couldn't mean anything good, but what would Krayt's Sith be doing here in an abandoned temple?

"The Force Harvester!" K'kruhk cried in realisation, and Jacen looked at him in bemusement.

"You reckon that's what they're after? Two things, one, surely it's in pieces and two, surely the Jedi wouldn't be stupid enough to bury a piece of it right outside the door to a Sith temple?" he asked, and K'kruhk pondered, then shrugged.

"As to the first, they might not need it in one piece. Remember the Force Harvester is ancient, thousands of years old. If Krayt even gets a part of it, he could very well adapt it. A part might be all he needs to discover what he needs to know. And as to the second, I'll be the first to admit that brains weren't the Order's strong suit during the Clone Wars. Particularly on the Council." He mused, and Lumiya hissed between her teeth.

"That's his little game. If the usurper gets his hands on the Force Harvester, he will be unstoppable." She said, and Jaina looked at her sceptically.

"A bit dramatic isn't it?" she asked, and Lumiya gave her an icy look.

"Oh? Him having a weapon that can suck the living Force out of an enemy? Think about it." She snarled, and Jaina went pale as she considered the implications, if Krayt got his hands on a weapon like that he could destroy the Jedi with ease.

"We need to stop him." She said, and Luke smiled grimly.

"Agreed. Alema, stay here and guard the stuff we've collected." He ordered and the Twi'lek pouted.

"I want to bring balance." She said, and K'kruhk clapped her on her shoulder.

"Well, balance your lightsaber in your hand. That'll keep you occupied." He said, and flinched away from her when she fixed him with a lethal glare.

"Come on, we need to stop them. Stay put Alema, we'll contact you when we're done." Leia said, and Alema swore at her in Huttese as the group split off from her, leaving her where she was.

Descending through the dark fortress, they could feel the rising excitement of the newcomers, and they hurried their pace, the dark side getting thicker as they moved through the temple.

"You ok?" Ben asked, and Vestara nodded.

"Eager, that's all. Time for some payback." She hisser, her saber already in hand, but before Ben could say anything, Lumiya held up a hand.

"Revenge is good when it suits your purposes, but do not take revenge just for revenge's sake. That will allow your enemy to exploit you." She warned, and Vestara looked at her curiously.

"Does that mean I can't enjoy killing these pretenders?" she demanded and Lumiya smiled.

"Of course not child, just don't enjoy it because of what happened to Kesh, enjoy it because they deserve it." She purred, and Luke rolled his eyes as they moved towards the door to the temple.

"You really think they want the Force Harvester?" Leia asked, and K'kruhk nodded.

"It would be the logical thing to assume since they aren't actually in the temple. Either way, we're about to find out." He said, as Jaina edged open the door, catching them all with a gust of brutal wind. Shoving the door back and opening it when it subsided, they saw a large atmospheric dome, shimmering out in the promenade before the ruined temple. Within the dome was an Assault Transport, the sort mass produced as small capital ships by the Empire at the height of the war, and before them were several excavation droids, digging up what appeared to be some sort of metallic cradle.

"Is that it?" Mara asked, and K'kruhk nodded.

"Yes. Time is of the essence." He said, and with that he led the group towards the shield, barrelling through into the protective bubble.

"Lady Oracle, we have visitors." A Sith dressed in a black cloak with only his white eyes showing said in contempt, and the Bothan who seemed to be in charge turned to meet them, grinning as she did so.

"Darth Oracle." Lumiya said in contemptuous greeting, and the Bothan's smile widened into a predatory grin.

"Lumiya, fancy seeing you here." She purred as the rest of the Sith surrounded her, ignoring the chittering droids behind them.

"Please Oracle, you knew we were going to come here before we did. Which begs the question what are you doing here?" she asked and the Arkanian Sith beside her looked at her snootily.

"None of your business, pretender." She spat in dismissal, and Lumiya gnashed her teeth in anger.

"We aren't the pretenders you are." Vestara retorted angrily, and the Muun behind the other Sith chuckled darkly.

"We are the true Sith, Lumiya is the broken relic of a bygone age. We are the future of the Sith." He boasted, and Mara looked at them, obviously unimpressed.

"You lot? Really?" she asked, sounding slightly disappointed, and the Nuknog Sith looked most affronted.

"Shall we kill them Lady Oracle?" he asked eagerly, but Oracle held us a hand, shaking her head.

"Certainly not, Lumiya asked us a question. We are furthering Lord Krayt's will." The Bothan said, and Lumiya snorted derisively.

"I doubt that, after all, Krayt doesn't have a will, or a brain for that matter. He just uses mine, Vongerella's and Vol's, and tries to pass it off as his own." She said, and the entire group of Sith suddenly became incensed, all of their hands dropping to their sabers.

"She must pay for that!" the Weequay Sith spat, and the Devaronian beside the Arkanian growled, his pointed teeth showing.

"You dare dismiss Lord Krayt when you travel with Jedi scum?" he demanded furiously, and Luke grinned humourlessly.

"Through no choice of our own believe me. Now, shall we do this or not? I'm bored. And if you're really so good, you might provide us some sport...but from what Lumiya tells us you're not much trouble at all." Luke said arrogantly, making the others and Lumiya in particular grin in delight as the rankled Sith got even angrier.

"Lady Oracle?" the Neimodian asked angrily, and the Bothan nodded.

"Very well Darth Vitiosus. Kill them all!" Oracle ordered, gesturing to the droids to send them to the ship with the Harvester.

And with that the group of Sith ignited their lightsabers, leaping towards their opponents angrily, crimson light covering them all.

The group was already on the move, moving to intercept their opponents. K'kruhk tried to pass to get to the droids that were escorting the dead insect looking chunk of the Harvester to the ship, however, the various duels now proceeding disrupted his progress and the Muun had taken up a guard position.

Jaina tackled Oracle, at least she tried to. The Bothan had already moved out of the way, and her saber was in a position to block her before Jaina had even made her move. The elegant Bothan then released herself upon Jaina, performing several different twirls and slashes as she came at Jaina, her power obvious. Jaina barely blocked the last swing before flipping further up the mound of dirt they had entered from. She then cast a rock at the Sith, but the Sith had already reached out a hand and crushed the projectile before it could threaten her.

"Alright how is she doing that?" she demanded, and Lumiya, cracking her whip at the Arkanian Darth Scientia, gave her an irritable look.

"She's an oracle, she knows what you're going to do before you do it, what do you expect?" she asked in disdain, and Jaina blushed slightly as Lumiya resumed her attack against Scientia.

White Eyes was powerful, there was no disputing that as the cloaked Sith battered at Luke's defences. Luke however was more than equal, taking the attacks in good stead, allowing the Sith to think he was winning while he got him into a position that he could use to kill him.

Jacen parried a blow from Darth Pharma, shoving the Devaronian away from the others as his green blade was continually blocked by the Sith's red one. He was alright, but not that great. Pharma snarled in annoyance as they duelled, the Jedi clearly the stronger of the two of them. Behind him Vestara was battling the belligerent Nuknog Darth Vervex and was clearly overwhelming him with her superior technique, and Ben, while struggling slightly, was more than equal to the Givin Darth Gracillo. Leia and Mara were battling the Neimodian and the Weequay, called Vitiosus and Luxuriae respectively, the two of them clearly a match for the powerful Sith.

Oracle blocked yet another swing, making Jaina even more irritated battling this Sith was quickly becoming a pain in the ass. Oracle laughed mockingly as Jaina tried once again to attack her, but the Jedi had no chance of killing her, she knew every move she could possibly make before she made it.

Ahead, K'kruhk and the Muun Darth Fabula were currently engaged in a battle of wills and minds, Fabula casting dark side apparitions at the aged Jedi. K'kruhk however had great focus, drawing on the light side of the Force even on that dark world, easily obliterating his dark side attacks. Fabula was clearly getting frustrated, and began casting lightning alternately while maintaining his current attacks. K'kruhk's saber intercepted many of the attacks, his mind pressing against Fabula's.

Lumiya cackled as Scientia, who only wielded a shoto was pushed back, the Arkanian getting ever more desperate. Seeing a chance to finally change this duel in their favour, she sent Jacen a flash through the Force and prepared to strike. She then coiled her whip around her head, cracking it at Scientia, cleaving into her stomach with one of her tendrils. While the Arkanian screeched in pain and fell to the ground, her scream was enough to distract the Devaronian, and Jacen slammed his hilt into his opponent's chin. Stumbling, Pharma brought his saber around to protect himself but it was far too late as Jacen twirled on the spot, reversed his blade and performed a vicious uppercut right through Pharma's face.

"Apprentice!" Scientia screamed as he fell to the floor, already dead, and she gestured, making Jacen cough vigorously as she started to block his lungs.

"Jacen!" Leia yelled worriedly, but she needn't have worried as Lumiya swung her whip down, about to end the life of the Sith scientist when Scientia unleashed a Force scream, sending the Dark Lord stumbling back. Dragging herself wearily to her feet, Scientia blasted lightning at both Jacen and Lumiya as she hobbled for the ship, where the droids had nearly taken the Harvester too.

Seeing Scientia move by them, K'kruhk tried to direct the next attack at her, but Fabula was too wise for that, and he followed her example, giving off a scream that sent K'kruhk plodding back. Seeing Lumiya and Jacen recover and run after the Arkanian, K'kruhk then created a powerful sphere of light, surrounding the Sith despite his attempts to blast it apart with his apparitions.

"You cannot triumph against me Jedi, I have studied the archives far too long for that!" he boasted, creating a coiled serpent of darkness that he set on K'kruhk.

The Whiphid remained unfazed, creating a powerful beam of light with the Force that he threw right at the Muun's mind's eye. As Fabula tried to shake off the effects, his control slipped and throwing his saber like a small knife, it formed an arc of light through the air and plunged right into the Muun's chest, dropping him like a stone to the ground with a grunt.

Oracle hissed in annoyance as she saw her comrades fall, realising that if she didn't escape soon, she would soon be overwhelmed. Time to get out of here.

"A diverting entertainment my fine Jedi, but I don't like playing with the kiddie's league, come back when you've grown up." She sneered, stabbing right for Jaina's heart.

Jaina flipped away to avoid the attack, but then realised it was a ruse as Oracle made for the assault transport, which Scientia had reached and was now defending the ramp of with YVH droids. Oracle leapt past these droids, smirking as the last excavation droid finished pushing the Harvester into the hold.

Lumiya, Jacen and now K'kruhk were pinned down by the heavy artillery arcs of the droids, and unable to move forward. Luke and the others were pushing the others back towards the ship, which was now floating on repulsors.

White Eyes, otherwise known as Darth Stibinos, blocked a potentially lethal attack from the Grand Master. Locking their sabers, the Sith grunted, shoving back at the Grand Master. Luke reeled back a little, his blade still coming in to decapitate Stibinos. Stibinos growled, Force pushing Luke slightly and as the Jedi stumbled, Stibinos sacrificed a chance to wound the Jedi for a chance to escape, flipping into the air and landing behind the protective droids.

Leia blocked a final swing before she twirled, kicking the Neimodian in the chin, and then swinging her saber in a wide arc that took the head off of Darth Vitiosus' shoulders. Leia then moved forward to assist the others in trying to stop the ship, but it was fully powered, and now its mini lasers were active, the green bolts pounding at the ground, forcing her to backtrack before she was killed. Mara used the attack to her benefit, sending the dislodged shards of dried earth in a storm towards Luxuriae, and as he yelped, she stepped forward and smartly cleaved the Weequay in two.

Gracillo, the Givin, kicked Ben in the chest and followed up with a Force push, sending Ben tumbling into the dirt. The Givin then used an ascension cable, slinging himself into the ship's hold away from harm. As Ben recovered, Vestara, straining to force Bervex out of the saber lock, cast a small web of lightning at the Nuknog. Yelping as the light blinded him, she shoved his saber out of the way and stabbed him right through the throat. As Bervex dropped, she looked to the sky to see Oracle standing in the hold. Laughing mockingly, the Sith gave them a cheerful wave as the transport headed for space, bearing a piece of the Force Harvester along with it.

"Uh oh, that's not good." Jaina said as the ship vanished into thin air, leaving the group standing among the bodies of the dead Sith watching where the Sith ship had disappeared.

XX

"Master?" Vestara asked in the hold an hour later.

All the things had been stored, K'kruhk was already researching, and while Luke, Leia and Mara discussed the disturbing implications of the One Sith now being truly active in the galaxy, Lumiya had been pondering about Lord Vol.

Thugs though they were, the One Sith were strong thugs, and Vol was in a prime location to help her eliminate the vermin that dared to call themselves Sith. The galaxy was growing darker (partly why Luke and the others were basically in crisis talks), and the divisions between the Sith meant that the gathering dark could be used against them as much as it could be used in their favour. And regardless, she would have to deal with Krayt eventually anyway, a fact made all the more difficult now he had the Force Harvester.

The Jedi's light was going out of the galaxy, and Krayt now had the weapon to make it work. But he also had the power to destroy the Rule of Two and the Tribe and even Vongerella should the need arise, which didn't suit her plans at all. While the three main powers, herself, Krayt and Vongerella, had coexisted (bitterly though it may have been) the last few years, it did work because theoretically, none of them had the power to exterminate the others, Lumiya and Vongerella's fleets protecting them from Krayt all this time, and because he had been planning his own slow rise to power (not that he got far as he spent most of it in stasis).

Yes, perhaps it was time to consult with Lord Vol. Just to be on the safe side.

"You did well today my apprentice. In all areas." Lumiya said proudly and Vestara grinned, and followed her master to where the others were researching.

XX

Once again, they had arrived too late. While there was an imprint, a significant imprint in the dark side, it was clear that the _Millennium Falcon_ was long since gone, as was the ship Oracle had taken here to salvage the remains of the Force Harvester.

And Khai was not happy.

For he could feel his daughter more clearly now. And he could feel the rising corruption within her, the loyalty to Lumiya, to the one who had destroyed their world in her spite.

And most disgusting of all, she could feel the rising feelings she had for the Jedi boy. He could feel them, slowly coming to light, starting as nothing more than a base attraction, primarily to suit the ends of herself and Lumiya. But now the silly girl was actually beginning to fall for the boy.

She was his daughter, he could feel it.

And he wouldn't have it.

"Proceed after them as before. We need to hurry. The witch Lumiya is turning my daughter into her play thing, and the Jedi boy is getting to her. We need to move quickly, lest she be lost to us completely." He said, and Sazat looked at him curiously.

"And if she is?" he asked hesitantly, and Khai glared.

"Then, we take steps. Whatever it takes." He said ominously as the ship once more leapt after their prey.

XX

The pirates had been attacking hard and fast. Devaron, Teyr, Kiffu and Ghorman had all been subject to raids, hitting convoys, space stations and orbital facilities, all as part of Collonzas' master plan, which the Wraiths hadn't been able to figure out until it was too late. By the time they got the location of where the true strike would fall, there was no way to alert anyone in power as to where they were going, not without exposing themselves.

And so it was that they came to Thyferra.

The _Governor _had dropped out of lightspeed first, right on top of an outbound bacta convoy. Using armed hyperspace tugs, the entire convoy had been captured within minutes, the THDC not even getting its fighters in the air before they were finished. And as the fighters had arrived, backed up by the small but powerful fleet of Carrack cruisers, combined with an Alliance Assault Frigate that was there to make sure the Vratix didn't act up, that was when the rest of the task force had arrived, once again forcing the Wraiths into battle against their own side.

The battle had been hard and fast, the fight unnecessarily brutal as the Wraiths and their pirate 'allies' wiped out or captured most of the THDC. While the Wraiths kept casualties to a minimum, in order to keep their cover they had been forced to shoot down a few pilots, and also help in the runs on the Carrack cruisers and the Assault frigates.

There were days being in Intelligence truly sucked.

The battle had always been won before the defences had gotten into gear. The humiliating defeat just made the devastation complete. Three of the five Carracks were destroyed, the other two had been captured by Collonzas' men, their crews vented to space. The same had been true of the Assault frigate, and any fighter that they had captured. With the battle done, the pirates had descended on Thyferra en masse, stealing as much bacta as they could get their hands on and destroying the rest. And then, as quickly as they came, they went.

The Alliance, predictably, did its nut. With civil wars happening across the galaxy, the last thing they needed was a bacta shortage, which was what they now had. The Thyferrans were outraged, demanding a full out cruiser in order to protect them, and also insisting an Alliance escort for all their convoys, which would further stretch thin the Alliance. Furthermore, with the price of bacta suddenly through the roof, the economy began to spiral out of control, weakening the value of the credit, causing economic turmoil across the galaxy.

Collonzas laughed as his assembled leaders watched the news reports from their raid on Thyferra, drink flowing freely. Lumiya had already sent a message of approval, as had Wyyrlok. The pirates were all happy, massive profits were being made as they sold bacta on at extortionate prices and fear of the united pirate fleet was spreading throughout the galaxy as the various planets feared what would happen next.

"You see boys, all it takes is a little patience, a little planning, and in one swift stroke, you can bugger up the government completely all in one easy lesson! So, three cheers and beers for my good friends!" he crowed triumphantly, toasting them as Veklanna kissed him seductively, the pirates cheering and toasting their visionary leader who for the first time since the Stark Hyperspace War had put pirates back on the map, making the galaxy as a whole fear them once again.

At his seat, Face, dressed as General Kargin, sipped his drink, falsely cheering and smiling while the pirates celebrated. They were failing in their mission. Collonzas was good, very good, and now that he had proven himself and made a name for himself, he was going to be even harder to stop.

In one strike, Collonzas had virtually destabilised the entire galaxy, along with making the civil wars that much worse, which would further weaken the Alliance, which was now economically weak on top of it all. Director Kalenda and Admiral Niathal wouldn't be happy, not happy at all. They had to up their game, they were failing, Collonzas was gaining more and more support from other pirate groups and he was getting bolder.

And they were still no nearer to stopping him.

So, Face drank his beer as the pirates congratulated each other, his gaze never leaving Collonzas as he and Veklanna made out, wondering just how far they would have to go to stop him, or how far he would force them to go before they stopped him for good.

Being in intelligence sucked.

XX

Copero had once been the headquarters of the Mitth Family. That was of course until the Vong had appeared from nowhere and had nuked the damn place out of existence, slaughtering its inhabitants with ease. However, due to being a busy shipyard, many more ships had been in orbit around the planet when the Vong had arrived. Though the _Pain of Loss_ was only equivalent in power to a Lancer cruiser, their surprise attack, and their disgusting nuking of the planet, had allowed them to catch the defences off guard, and their ships had been rendered completely useless by the ship. The ships had been deactivated and when the Kor Chokk cruiser, the _Embrace of Darkness_ had arrived they had dragged the deactivated and damaged ships into the shipyard, and with the help of their Vaagari allies, who were now pillaging the ships and trying to adapt them for their own uses, while keeping the terrified civilians and former military crews prisoner as slave labour. As dozens of civilian ships had been impounded, the Vaagari, who had mainly taken over the job of keeping the peace at Copero and were now only backed up by one of the Vong's new Vua'Spar Interdictors, had no lacking of victims to torture, rape and abuse.

And that was the situation that Ar'alani intended to solve.

She and her commanders had been studying the specs of their fleet, and all of the intelligence reports Wynssa had been bringing them in order to find out just what they were capable of, and now they finally had what they needed in order to launch the attack.

"Five Vaagari Star Destroyers are in charge of defensive operations around the shipyards. In addition, the Vong interdictor, which we believe to be a recent build since it wasn't involved in the initial attack, is also on station. It is our belief that the Vong are there to keep an eye on their allies as much as they are their victims." Wreth said, pointing to the holograms of the various enemy ships.

"Since Copero was a planet dependent upon its shipyard, when the attack went off, many civilian and partially finished military ships were trapped in orbit with no way out. The Vong rounded up all the ships, including the defensive military ships, and crammed them all into the shipyard, apparently as a gift to appease the Vaagari, who as you all know want to get their hands on our technology. In the spirit of this endeavour, they have kindly repaired all the ships, even the civilian ones, within the shipyard, but they still haven't found out how to adapt what they've learned, if indeed they have learned anything, to more practical applications, otherwise they'd have abandoned the place by now. With the Vaagari more interested in trying to utilise our technology, they haven't realised that they have now placed themselves in great jeopardy." Fel elaborated, and Ar'alani took over.

"Indeed they have. According to our calculations, we currently have thirteen military ships docked within the station, six of which are Star Destroyers and the rest various support craft. There are also around two dozen civilian ships docked on the shipyard, and most importantly round about eleven thousand of our kinsmen trapped in the claws of the Vaagari. Obviously, this is an opportunity we cannot miss, and we cannot in good conscience leave our people at the hands of our most brutal enemies any longer than they already have." She explained, and a pilot put up his hand.

"Do we think the slaves will revolt when we begin the attack?" he asked, and Ka'yn nodded.

"We believe so, they haven't been imprisoned long enough to have robbed them of their will to fight, at least that's what we believe but of course we have no way of being sure. However we are proceeding under the assumption that they will help." He said, and he once again gestured to the Admiral to take over the actual mission part of the briefing.

"In conference with Aristocra Formbi," Ar'alani said, nodding to the Aristocra, who nodded back, "we have placed the highest priority on this mission. As a result, most of our military forces will be taken up by this mission. We will leave the _Skygust_ and the _Matadorian_ behind to offer basic protection to the fleet, however, the rest will all be coming with us. Captains of said ships, needless to say, the civilian ships are your first priority. Should you be attacked, waste no time, get your charges out. The fleet will be going to red alert for the duration of this mission. All ships remaining behind will keep their hyperdrive spooled up and their hands on the lever so that they can go at a second's notice.

Now, the plan.

The _Fell Defender_ will drop out of lightspeed at their periphery and start using our long range turbolasers. That ought to get their attention. While their forces respond, our starfighters will launch and escort our assault transports onto the shipyards, before facing off the Vaagari fighters and any coralskippers that may be there. Once on board, Captain Fel will have two objectives. The first will be to free the slaves and get them to their ships, the military ships of course being the most vital due to our situation. He will also take control of the shipyard defences, and turn them on the interdictor so that our forces can jump away.

While the _Fell Defender_ crew achieves that aim, at the same time the _Night Crawler _will emerge on the opposite side of the installation and perform the same thing. The remaining three ships will then arrive in formation with the two Destroyers, allowing us to engage the Vaagari ships while our fighters tackle theirs. By that time, Fel will have command of the shipyard and the first of the ships will have joined us in the battle. As that occurs, the _Olympian_ will then arrive and deploy the last of the fighters in order to help end the battle. The civilian ships on the station will start jumping out as soon as we have taken out the interdictor, and we will stay on station until all ships are away. Once all civilian ships are away, if we are outmatched, we flee, if not, we finish them. Any questions?" she asked, tapping her stick to the floor for emphasis.

One pilot stuck up her hand.

"Ma'am, what if the Vaagari decide to blow up the ships rather than let us take them back?" she asked, and Ka'yn answered this one.

"We believe that their desire to have our ships as their own will prevent them from doing just that. What is more, we also believe that the captives within the shipyards will also see that they don't do it." He explained, and another pilot put up his hand.

"What if the Vong return to reinforce the Vaagari?"

"We believe that the Vong are less concerned with us than they were initially, our recon patrols have only seen Vaagari forces other than a few stationary ships." Wreth said, and with that the pilots seemed satisfied, nodding eagerly.

"Obviously, this mission could mean the continued survival of the Chiss. We cannot fail. We go in five hours. Prepare yourselves, good hunting." Ar'alani said, dismissing them all, and as the pilots traipsed out, Soontir leaned in close to her.

"Yeah, but the Vong ships we've seen, none of them were involved in the initial attack. If the Vong had them then, why not use them?" he asked, and she looked at him stonily.

"You think the same as I then, that the Vong have built a shipyard somewhere?" she asked and he nodded.

"It would make sense, now they can carry on without anyone being any the wiser." He said grimly, and she nodded, just as Formbi walked up beside them.

"Well I propose we make that our first priority after this mission. Speaking of which Admiral, would you mind if I tagged along on the _Fell Defender_? I wish to know what's going on as it happens." He said, and Fel and Ar'alani exchanged shocked glances. Formbi was still just as cool in his treatment of Ar'alani as she was of him, and now he was willing to put himself in harm's way and under her jurisdiction? Everyone knew how frosty their relationship was, it was the worst kept secret in the fleet. Perhaps he was trying to build bridges.

"Very well, but if I give you an instruction, you must follow it Aristocra." She said sternly and he nodded.

"I accept your terms." He said stoutly, and she nodded.

"Well let us get underway, we have a battle to prepare for." She said, heading for the bridge.

XX

Shawnkyr's Clawcraft sped into battle, lasers firing as they gave the shuttles covering fire. A report dinged in the crewpit, signalling that the _Night Crawler_ was in position and also launching fighters. Turbolaser fire erupted from the two Star Destroyers, hitting the oncoming Vaagari cruisers while the transports, under the protection of the fighters, ducked and weaved through space on their way to the shipyard. The _Creepstalker_ then arrived, blazing in close and backing up the fighters as they battled the Vaagari ships. The _Sandstorm _and _Tornado_ then erupted from lightspeed, adding their own fighters to the brawl as they joined their respective Star Destroyers.

Ar'alani braced herself as another blast from the oncoming Vaagari cruisers rocked her starship. As predicted there were five ships, however one of them was a heavy cruiser, which was sitting tucked in with the Vong interdictor, firing long range missiles at the two Star Destroyers while the smaller cruisers bore down on them, turbolasers pounding away at their shields.

"Captain Fel reports he is on board Admiral!" Doshi yelled as another blast illuminated the bridge.

"Excellent. Time to get our hands dirty. Full ahead, shields front, power to weapons, let's make some noise." Ar'alani said, and the crew hurried to carry out her orders.

The _Tornado_ was firing everything it had at the oncoming Vaagari cruisers, but combined with the Star Destroyer's turbolasers, the weaker ships (which usually triumphed by swarming their opponents) were already received severe damage. Their fighter support had largely been broken, and the Chiss forces had them on the run, chasing them away from the ships docked in the shipyard.

The heavy Vaagari cruiser, seeing the trouble its smaller charges was having, blazed away from the interdictor, of course choosing to focus on the _Fell Defender_.

"Take evasive action!" Ar'alani barked as the ship started launching heavy rockets towards them, exploding and rocking the ship.

One Vaagari cruiser died as a salvo from the _Tornado_ punched through the main fuselage, venting the crew into space. The smaller ship then turned to deal with the other cruiser, its stern already aflame as the _Fell Defender_ headed right for the heavy cruiser, turbolasers pounding away at the superior ship.

"Admiral, the _Night Crawler _is requesting orders, they have defeated their cruisers and want to know if you want their help here or to protect the ships?" Doshi relayed, however Ar'alani was saved from answering as a rocket exploded right above the bridge, shaking the entire ship. Ar'alani screeched as she fell to the ground, her stick rolling into the crewpit as several consoles exploded, showering them all in sparks.

The noise echoing in her ears, Ar'alani tried to get to her feet, but without her stick she wasn't having much success. The entire room was spinning, alarms were blaring, the ship was shuddering from another impact, she could dimly hear cries of pain, but she could do nothing.

"Come along Admiral, this isn't the time to be lying around on the job." Formbi scolded, and she mustered the strength to glare at him. She received only a grim smile in response, and she took his accepted hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet as another impact shuddered into the hull.

Steadying her as the ship rocked once again, Formbi accepted her stick from a crewman and passed it to her, and she nodded thankfully, steadying herself before another blast hit.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and when she nodded he immediately ran into the crew pit to attend to a wounded crewman.

Taken aback by his helpfulness, she turned to see Wreth helping Doshi out from under a metal plate.

"Status report." She said as Doshi, to Wreth's surprise, leapt back into his chair.

"Captain Fel has reached the command centre, and the slaves are behind him. He's had them split into two, some of them are following him and the other troops, the rest are manning the ships, the first ones should be with us in minutes. The _Night Crawler_ has engaged the heavy cruiser and has left the _Sandstorm_ to assist in stopping the interdictor. The _Tornado_ is providing covering fire for us." Doshi reported as a last rocket blew outside the viewport, once more rocking the ship.

"Get this man to the infirmary." Formbi ordered, as the orderlies carted off a wounded technician and Formbi promptly took his seat, making Ar'alani smile.

"Mr Formbi, how do we stand after the attack?" she asked, and he peered at the readouts.

"Slight damage to engine three, shields are just coming back up, superficial damage across the ship, several sensors have gone blind and we lost a turbolaser emplacement." He reported and Ar'alani smiled at Fel, who had recovered from the attack, leaving the man looking flabbergasted

Energy weapons then started lancing out from the shipyards, pummelling both the heavy cruiser and the interdictor above it. As the shipyards opened up with all of their weapons, the _Olympian _finally arrived, Clawcraft swirling into battle as they joined the fight, helping Shawnkyr and her fighters deal with the last of the Vaagari ships.

The two Star Destroyers were blasting away at the heavy cruiser, but the ship was still far from defeated despite some of the fighters now helping and the power of the shipyard. And it was then that a heavy turbolaser blast impacted right on the heavy cruisers stern and Ar'alani, looking out of the viewport, beamed at the sight she saw, all the military ships departing the shipyard, their weapons pounding at the remaining enemy ships.

"Admiral Ar'alani, this is Commander Myndic of the Star Destroyer _Poison Chalice_. Thanks for the save, we are at your command." He said, and Ar'alani smiled.

"You are most welcome Commander. Let's finish things here!" she ordered and she could hear the cheers from the liberated ship's crews over the comm as the combined Chiss fleet, now being flooded with packed civilian ships, made short work of the remaining Vaagari/Vong forces.

The battle over, the various civilian ships were being escorted to join the rest of the fleet. The Vaagari had all been killed and as far as they knew, no one had escaped. Various crews were now dismantling anything and everything of use in the shipyards. They may have gotten the people off, but to allow it to be used again, perhaps this time just to build Vaagari ships, would be foolhardy, hence they were stripping it bare before they destroyed the entire facility.

"What will we do now?" Fel asked curiously as they watched another civilian ship shoot to lightspeed.

The battle had gained them six fully armed and operational Star Destroyers, one carrier, two corvettes and four patrol frigates, all of them fully outfitted and crewed, giving them exactly what they needed, a much needed boost in morale. They had also freed several thousand Chiss captives and were now harbouring them within the fleet, which meant their people were a step further away from extinction.

"Well the Vaagari and the Vong will be out for revenge. We've humiliated them here, proven that we're not down and out yet, and they'll want to disabuse us of that notion as soon as possible. Even with the new ships, we won't be able to hold off a combined offensive by both species for long." Wreth warned darkly.

Myndic then chimed in from his ship, having been listening to the conversation over the comm.

"Whatever you want admiral, just give us the word." He said, and she acknowledged the sentiment.

"We will now proceed with our original plan. We will begin escorting the various civilian ships to the Redoubt. Now that we have the firepower we need to maintain an offensive defence, that is what we will do. We will use a rotation, some military ships escort ships to the Redoubt, drop them off and come back to us, where we will be protecting the rest of the fleet, and so on and so forth." She said, and Formbi nodded.

"Makes sense to me, however, there is one flaw Admiral. The Vong have undoubtedly parked their worldship right at the entrance to the Redoubt, it'll be impossible to get through, the fleet even before the attack would struggle to defeat it." He reasoned and she nodded.

"Quite right, which is why we'll be using the back door. Also, I intend to send one of the Star Destroyers in with them, to give a status update to anyone in power within the Redoubt and tell them of our plans." She said, and Ka'yn, from his own ship, interjected.

"When do we continue to?" he asked, and she smiled grimly.

"Until we've rescued as many as we can and blown up as many as we can." She responded darkly.

"And we hit them hard, let them know we're not going down without a fight." Go'Vari, also attending over the comm, added.

"Exactly. We will make them rue the day they dared attack us like they did. We will take the fight to them and make them suffer. While trying to get word to the outside galaxy anyway." Ar'alani amended, and they nodded as the various ships signed off.

As they all went about their assigned tasks, Ar'alani turned to Formbi and placed a hand on his wrist to stop him leaving.

"Will you be leaving with the first convoy Aristocra?" she asked and he gave her a small smile.

"I think not Admiral, after all, it is a gradual process you're proposing, the civilians will still need administration." He said and she nodded, a slight smile on her face.

"Very good. Thank you, for your efforts earlier. They were most appreciated. We could do a lot worse." She said kindly, holding out her hand, and smiling slightly, he shook it.

"As could I. Perhaps we can be friends Admiral." He said, and she nodded.

"Perhaps we can." She said musingly, and he gave her a sharp salute, which she returned before both of them went their separate ways, smiling.

XX

The holo flickered, and once again K'kruhk feared for the life of his friend before she returned to the view, scowling as she did so.

"She's getting more and more powerful. Calrissian has stopped all mining processes, and he's hired scientists from all over the joint to try and figure out what's happening to his planet. Needless to say, they're baffled." She said grimly, and K'kruhk looked at her worriedly.

"How long can you hold out?" he asked, and she hesitated as the planet rocked beneath her again.

"I've no idea. Her Force powers are growing K'kruhk, she's lashing out more and more. However much she might have exhausted herself attacking you on Ziost, she's now back in business and nastier than ever. I can feel her power growing, she's destabilising everything in the system, the Maw itself, the Force and the planet. K'kruhk, I don't know how much longer I can hold her, and I don't see very many options. Either I hold my ground and hope you get here in time, summon reinforcements or leave Kessel to its fate. Calrissian will have to evacuate eventually anyway, even he isn't that much in love with the profit motive." She said tersely, and the Whiphid nodded.

"We are making progress in discovering more about her and her capabilities. One of the scrolls we took from Thule before our little run in with the Sith," he began, but T'ra interrupted him.

"Speaking of which, have you alerted the Council yet?" she queried and he shook his head.

"No, and Luke hasn't alerted his one either. Or the government." He said, and T'ra scowled at him.

"K'kruhk, they need to know! It doesn't do us much good to deal with Abeloth if the Sith come along and stab us in the back. Tell them, and get Luke to tell his lot too." She scolded and he scowled back.

"I will, as soon as we deal with issues on Thule. And Luke will at least need to deal with his Council, one of his Jedi encountered a Sith on Blaudu Sextus, so he needs to address his Council at the very least. However we are trying to avoid causing a panic, and announcing the return of the Sith will cause that."

"A panic be damned, they need to be prepared. What were you saying about Thule?" she asked, her tone grumpy, and K'kruhk pushed on before she found anything else to nag him about.

"One of the scrolls mentioned the ancient art of draining the life from something, which is one of her primary weapons according to what we know. As a result, we are heading to Katarr, to the mausoleum of Darth Nihilus to see what we can discover." He informed her, and she nodded.

"Seems logical I suppose."

Her gaze was then distracted, and a second later she turned back to k'kruhk, her face ashen.

"K'kruhk, she just wrecked half a mountain, she caused a landslide that destroyed a miles high mountain, and then an earthquake to finish it off. She's getting finer control over the earthquakes she's been causing too, she's trying to isolate me so she can kill me. Please hurry, I'm afraid I won't last much longer!" T'ra urged, and he nodded kindly.

"We will be on our way to you soon, hold out a little longer. We need to know more before we confront her, but as soon as we get it, we will be there." He vowed and she looked at him fondly.

"I know you will old friend. But if you could get your finger out and hurry up, I'd be most appreciative." She said, and he nodded.

"We will. May the Force be with you."

"And you."

XX

"You know, I'm not asking much just somewhere that doesn't have a lot of Sith local history, that would be good." Han grumbled after they made planetfall on Katarr.

The group had easily found the mausoleum, and for a change hadn't given themselves an incredibly long walk to get to it. Unlike the other words however, there was nothing. At least Thule had still had a bit of life about it. Katarr was completely dead.

"What happened here?" Leia asked, looking around as they moved towards the mausoleum.

"During the First Jedi Purge, the Jedi, determined to see the threat that stalked them, came here, hoping to use the native Miraluka's power of vision to boost their own in order to perceive the threat. However, Atris, one of the Council, sought to lure the Sith out, believing a much reduced Order could defeat the threat, and leaked the information. Darth Nihilus arrived, landed on the planet, and as soon as he opened his mouth, everything died. All life in the planet was sucked out of existence, consumed to feed his power. The Jedi Council, the Miraluka, several other Jedi, none of them had any chance against him. He sucked the planet bone dry, killing sentient, flora and fauna. The very life was eradicated. It's been as you see it today, like this, for the better part of four thousand years. No life. No sound. No water. No wind. No weather. It's just a dead rock with an atmosphere, with abandoned cities all over it, all in the same condition they were when he arrived. Nothing has changed because nothing exists to change it. This place makes all the other worlds we've visited look like beach resorts." K'kruhk told her, once more going back into full storyteller mode.

Vestara looked around. Nothing moved. Their footsteps echoed across the planet as they skirted the edge of the empty city, as K'kruhk said, was still in perfect condition. Other than the planet looking like it had been covered in grey. There was no colour, aside from themselves. No wind, they were lucky to have air. Even the sun didn't shine like it ought to, the entire place was dead, just as he'd said.

It was then that Ben asked the question she'd been about to ask, but whether because he'd felt her curiosity through their bond she didn't know.

"I don't get it. If this Nihilus dude wiped out all life, why would they build a mausoleum for him here?" he asked curiously.

"It wasn't the Miraluka who built it, it was supporters of the Sith. After the death of Nihilus at Telos and the loss at Malachor, a Sith ship came here, intending to honour their dead master. They blamed the infighting between Traya and Sion for their lot, and argued that it was Traya who had destroyed them, so, loyal to their master to the last, they built the mausoleum and simply faded into nothingness." K'kruhk explained as they started ascending the ramp to the mausoleum.

"Master, does that technique still exist?" Vestara asked, and Lumiya took note of the tone of slight alarm in her voice, she saw the futility of such powers.

"In the same way as Nihilus used, no. After the Second Great Galactic War and the death of the Sith Emperor, the ability in that guise largely died out. Lord Sidious used the ability to a certain extent on Byss after his return, but it didn't work in the same way, he couldn't feed on them all at once, he fed of them over a long period of time, which is why most inhabitants of Byss were dark side fanatics, either that or lobotomised morons. The ability to use the technique as a weapon largely died out, there were rumours of it during the New Sith Wars of course, but if any records on how to use the power to the same extent as Nihilus did they would have been collected by Darth Bane. And if he did so, Darth Gravid most likely destroyed it when he went ga-ga." She explained and Jacen, grinning, looked at Lumiya curiously.

"A Sith Lord went ga-ga? Was he part of the Rule of Two? That would make it even worse." He said, and Lumiya nodded.

"And it did. He had a similar approach to myself, arguing that a Sith need not be an insane, galaxy conquering, mass murdering, megalomaniacal lunatic to be effective. However, while I believe compassion does have a place in the Sith teachings, he believed the Sith would be better off if they followed the light side. As he was one half of the Rule of Two, this was very serious, especially when the nutter started trying to destroy all the Sith lore he had. His Twi'lek apprentice, Darth Gean, took exception to this and killed him, though the battle maimed her considerably."

Alema's eyes suddenly misted over as she looked into space.

"She's my favourite Sith." She said, and Lumiya looked most perturbed.

"What about me?" she demanded petulantly while the others all grinned.

Alema shrugged.

"You're alright I suppose, but you're not a maimed Twi'lek, doing her part for the Balance." She said wistfully, and Lumiya glowered at her.

"No, but I am a maimed Sith, doing my part for the dark side you cheeky dancing bug slut lunatic." She grumbled under her breath, and when Ben and Vestara caught each other's eye they had to look away before they started laughing, which the others were already failing in their effort not to do.

Ignoring them, Lumiya glared at Alema.

"I better be your favourite out of the current claimants." She said tartly, and Alema nodded absently, and Jacen grinned.

"I don't know, I'm kind of liking this Krayt dude." He said cheerfully, and Leia, struggling to keep a straight face, stood between her son and the furious Sith Lord who looked like she wanted to rip his head off.

"Can we hurry this up before my son's mouth gets him into trouble? See I just got him back and I don't want to lose him to a pissed off Sith Lord with popularity issues." She said, and Lumiya gnashed her teeth in irritation.

K'kruhk, chuckling along with Luke, examined the door, and found how to open it. A set of two levers was on the door. What was it with the ancient Sith and levers?

"Ah, a lever, this looks promising." He said, and then heard a rustle. Turning, he discovered Lumiya standing on the raised wall, looking at the ground untrustingly.

"Doesn't hurt to be safe. Pull the lever K'kruhk!" she ordered, and he did so.

A large urn then fell from above, trapping Luke beneath it with a yelp of alarm.

"Yes! There is justice in the universe!" Lumiya crowed while cackling along with the others.

Within the urn, Luke sighed in irritation.

"Other lever maybe?" he asked in exasperation, and he used the Force to shatter the urn as K'kruhk opened the door to the tomb.

The tomb was basically a long raised walkway, ending in another door. As they entered the building, Han drew his blaster nervously and put a hand on K'kruhk's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hey I thought you said this place was long abandoned?" he asked, and he nodded.

"Should be."

"Then how do you explain them?" Han asked, pointing.

Jaina raised her lit lightsaber to illuminate the room, then jumped back onto her aunt's foot in shock. There were people standing there, perfectly still, flanking the walkway as if they were an Imperial honour guard.

"Impossible..." K'kruhk whispered to himself as Mara soothed her foot.

Peering at one of them, he found them to be a little short for a human, much the same size Jaina was, standing perfectly still, their faces covered by a small circular breath mask and large wide goggles.

"How can they still be here after all this time?" Leia asked in shock, peering at one.

"They must have become anchored to his place when the end came, without Nihilus around they would just have seized up, he was essentially the puppet master." Lumiya explained as she and Vestara examined one.

Jacen quickly grabbed Ben's wrist as they stood by the one they were investigating.

"Don't' touch anything." He intoned and Ben grinned sheepishly and lowered his hands.

"This place is creepy, can we go?" Jaina asked, and K'kruhk nodded.

"They don't seem to be bothering anyone. Come." He said, beckoning them deeper into the mausoleum.

"You boys just keep your hands where I can see them." Han said warningly, and Leia rolled her eyes.

"Dear, they're four thousand year old Sith puppets, they can't hear you." She chided slightly, and he looked at them untrustingly.

"You don't know." He protested as they moved further in, Ben obediently keeping close to his cousin while Vestara stuck to her master, who was leading Alema, who wanted to touch the long dead minions, along by her remaining lekku.

Going through the next door (without a lever, it opened by shoving it) they entered into an antechamber. An open heavy door ahead of them seemed to lead to a shrine room, as a large statue of Nihilus had been constructed within. The other two led off to other areas.

"Split up?" Mara asked, and K'kruhk nodded.

"May as well. Bring back any and all that you find, we can sort through it later." He said, and Vestara raised an eyebrow.

"What if it's worthless?" she asked, and Lumiya smiled greedily at her.

"Then some stuffy old twit in a museum will always pay for it." She advised her, and Vestara grinned, before taking hold of Alema before she tried to wander off again.

"So, the Skywalker clan, Vestara and I will head in this direction, you lot take the other." K'kruhk said, oblivious to the dirty looks Luke and Mara were giving him. Jacen and Jaina grinned slightly and headed off with their parents, Lumiya and Alema bringing up the rear.

K'kruhk placed a hand on Vestara's shoulder as they walked, interrupting her and Ben's conversation about creepy things on Kesh, drawing her aside. Mara looked back curiously, and seeing that he was dealing with Ben's resident crush, she shoved Ben gently in front of her and moved to whisper in his ear.

"Yes Master K'kruhk?" she asked cautiously, not entirely sure what was going on here.

"I just wanted to see how you're settling in, and how you were coping with Kesh." He said kindly, placing his hand around her shoulder and leading her gently, but contrary to what she believed were her wishes, she didn't shove him off, it felt strange, like she had always imagined a grandfather or an uncle.

"I'm alright I suppose. Lumiya's made me feel welcome, and Ben is..." she said, leading off, and K'kruhk chuckled.

"I'm sure he is. Though my dear, I must advise caution." He said, and she glared at him.

"Meaning what?" she asked belligerently, and he held up a finger to stem the flow of hostility coming from her.

"Meaning that I can sense your rising feelings for him. You and Ben are connected, in ways even the best of us don't understand. That is influencing you to a significant degree. As is the fact that you both genuinely like each other and find each other attractive. I have no wish to see either of you hurt." He said kindly, and Vestara was a little taken aback.

While she was angry he was trying to interfere, she also felt that he did genuinely seem to care about her. How strange.

"What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly, and he sighed.

"My dear, believe me, I wish for nothing more than you and Ben to be free to do whatever you damn well please, it's obvious you care about each other. My concern is, you two are not the only ones interested in you two, what is the term all the young ones use nowadays, oh yes, hooking up."

She said nothing and didn't look at him, which he took as leave to continue.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that your master is most likely very keen on you getting together. And she isn't the only one. Among our little clan, there are those among us that are as determined to see you together as others are to see you apart." He explained and she turned to glare at him.

"Lumiya is my master, she's taken me in and has been looking after me. But she has nothing to do with me and Ben." She snapped, and K'kruhk held his hands up in surrender.

"I meant no disrespect to your master child. In fact I've nothing but respect for the way she took you in. I just want you to be careful my dear, I'm rather fond of you and don't want to see you getting hurt. Lumiya may be your master now, but she is still a Sith with an agenda, and I can't help but fear that she'll use you like she uses everyone else." He said, and she grinned wickedly.

"I would think less of her if she didn't. She's Sith." She said and trotted to catch up with the others, leaving K'kruhk chuckling and watching the girl musingly as she headed after Ben.

"Mom..." Ben said in exasperation, and she looked at him patiently.

"Sweetheart, I know I'm being a nag. But she's dangerous, especially to you." Mara said in exasperation and Ben scowled.

"Lumiya's dangerous to all of us, so is Alema, why is Vestara any different?" he demanded, and Mara looked at him consolingly.

"Because she's bound to you. You weren't talking to her for a while, and I thought..."

"Thought what? That it would be great because I wasn't talking to her for a while?" he asked sullenly, and Mara sighed in exasperation.

"Ben, she's a Sith, and you can be sure Lumiya has noticed the way you two keep checking each other out. She's dangerous, I don't want you getting your heart broken, or worse." She explained irritably and Ben rolled his eyes.

"Is this really about me getting hurt because she's a Sith, or because she's a girl?" he asked, and rather than answer, Mara looked thoughtful.

"Hmm, good question." She admitted and he grinned in spite of himself.

"Mom, can't you just trust me? I'll admit it, I like Vestara. That what you wanted to hear? Mom, I know she's a Sith, I know she'll likely gut me as soon as look at me, and I also know Lumiya is just as interested in us being together as you are." He said, and Mara scowled this time.

"I'm not interested in the same way she is." She said in a dignified voice.

"No, but you are interested. Mom, I've never even fancied a girl before, can't you just leave me alone? You know, trust me to do the right thing?" he asked hopefully and he looked so earnest that despite her best intentions, she sighed.

"Alright. I'm only trying to protect you, but I can see you're set on this. So promise me two things ok?" she asked, and Ben nodded patiently.

"Course."

"First, just be careful. I get that you like her, and she's your first crush, but don't forget who and what she is. I don't want you getting hurt." She said, stroking his cheek fondly and he grinned.,

"I will mom, I promise." He said, and she hugged him to her.

"And second, promise me this. No sex without safe sex." She whispered in his ear and he pulled back, scandalised.

"Mom!" he exclaimed in shock and she shrugged.

"Hey, I'm not ready to be a grandma, that's Leia's job. But if it blows up on you, don't come crying to me." She said tartly, but her resolve melted a second later when Ben hugged her again.

"Thanks mom. Now let's go, I want to get off this creepy world." He said, and he edged ahead, leaving Mara to deal with an amused Luke.

"He's right. He's a teenager darling, a teenager who is now bound to an attractive girl who is the complete polar opposite of him. Of course he fancies her, he'd be mad not to. She's pretty, the same age as he is, powerful like he is, she gets what his life is like and being with her would undoubtedly piss her off, which only adds to her allure. We don't have to like it. And yeah, I wouldn't put it past Lumiya to manipulate it for her own ends. But through everything, him being our son, Jacen's cousin, a Jedi apprentice, I reckon we've overlooked something very important." He said sagely, and she looked at him curiously.

"Which is?"

"He's a teenager." He said simply, and she smiled a little.

"I suppose. I'm still convinced he likes her only to annoy us." She said, and Luke grinned with maddening superiority.

"Oh? And your master would be delighted with who you married?" he asked and she grinned ruefully.

"Point. But what if he gets hurt?" she asked, and he smiled slightly.

"Mara, it's part of growing up. He's a teenager, he's going to experience heartbreak at some time or other, we both did." He said, and she arced an eyebrow at him.

"Who says I did?" she demanded and Luke grinned.

"Lumiya told me about you and one Moff Kadir. Little crush was it?" he teased and she seethed.

"I'll kill that big mouthed Sith witch. Alright I admit it, we'd dated a few times and I kind of liked him, and then he went and betrayed the Emperor so was killed, and left me heartbroken. And then, because I hadn't known he was involved in a coup the Emperor punished me. Happy now?" she asked and he leaned his forehead against hers, smiling.

"Exactly. I had Callista, Mary and a couple of others. It's part of growing up, he's bound to get burned a few times. And when it happens, he'll need his mom around to help put things right." He said soothingly, and she smiled.

"Alright. I'll hang fire. But I swear, she breaks my kid's heart, I'll break her legs." She growled menacingly, and Luke chuckled.

"You know, Han is right. Both Ben and Jacen really are mommy's boys." He said, laughing and she winked.

"Hey, least I'll get a nice retirement home with Leia, they'll just stick you and Han on a ship to somewhere and leave you there." She said smugly, making Luke laugh more, but then he looked at her worriedly.

"They wouldn't really do that would they?" he asked nervously and she laughed.

Ten minutes later, both parties met again in the junction room, carrying various scrolls and tomes.

"It's as much as we could carry. Let's get out of here, we can look at them on the ship." Leia said, leading them into the corridor.

"Um, K'kruhk?" Jaina asked nervously, stopping suddenly.

"Yes Jaina?"

"When we went in, those guy's eyes were dull weren't they?" she asked nervously, and he nodded.

"Yes why?"

"Then how come they're suddenly glowing red?" she asked in alarm and the group looked up in shock as the minions who had been standing stock still all turned to face them as one, their eyes glowing a sinister red, force pikes being activated.

"See! I told you we couldnt trust the creepy zombie Sith dudes!" Han grumbled, reading his blaster but Jacen shook his head, standing in front of his father.

"Dad, no." He said, and Han glared.

"Hey, I may be getting on..."

"It isn't that. These guys are Sith assassins." He said, as if that should mean something to his irate father.

"So?"

"So they feed on Force sensitives, and if I was a betting woman I'd say it was us raiding the place that woke them. Keep back and protect the scrolls, help from afar if you can but sorry Solo, up close you'll just get in the way." Lumiya said, cracking her whip into existence.

The others all lit their lightsabers, and Han, still grumbling, edged back with the information they had collected while the others formed a wall across the room, facing the thirty or so Sith assassins.

"Be careful, especially you two." Vestara said to Jacen and Luke, and Luke smiled slightly.

"Is that concern I hear in your voice Vestara?" he asked jestingly and she gave him a cool smile.

"Yes, but not for you. According to one of the scrolls I read in there, these assassins feed off the Force, like their master did, which perhaps explains how they are still alive after four millennia. The stronger their prey is, the stronger they are. So I'd rather you didn't die so they didn't kill me." She said brightly, earning her an indulgent smile from Lumiya as Luke scowled.

The assassins then vanished from view, shimmering from existence.

"Stealth generators? That's not fair!" Jaina protested, and Jacen hushed his sister, using their twin bond to try and locate the first assassin. The group clustered together, but then Jacen, his senses heightened, caught a flicker, and gathering his strength, lashed outwards with the Force.

The Sith assassins made a gurgling cry as they were blown over the room, away from the group, allowing the Jedi and Sith forces to make their move. Luke spiralled into the air, landing in front of two of them and slicing them in half with a single blow. Mara blocked the swing of a force pike, falling back as the assassin advanced on her relentlessly, force pike going for her head. She blocked the swing, twirling away from the attack before hacking upwards with her saber behind her, ripping through his chest. Vestara wasted no time, catching two of them with Force lightning, and while she immobilised them Ben finished them off. He then caught two in a Force push, allowing Vestara to kill them too. Lumiya's whip forced three back at once the bizarre weapon confounding the assassins as they tried to get in close to kill her, and while Lumiya held them off, Alema used her dart gun to kill two, before letting Lumiya whip the other one to pieces. Leia blocked a stealthy attack of one before kicking at another, wincing as a force pike came too close. K'kruhk blocked an attack of his own, facing off against four assassins at once, who, along with all the other ones, all vanished.

"Nobody move." Luke ordered as the group clustered together, waiting for the assassins to make their next move.

Han was looking around the place, desperate for any sign of movement. However it was clear that they had learned their lesson, not giving anything away this time. There was then a flicker as an assassin appeared behind Jacen and Luke, and before Han could alert either of them, he gestured, and an orange light blazed from the two of them into him, making them drop to the floor crying out in pain as they collapsed.

"Not good." Jaina said as the rest of the assassins then emerged from their stealth fields and once again tackled them.

"There's something different here!" Jaina cried, blocking a potentially deadly strike with the very edge of her saber.

"I warned you, now they're all sharing their power! They have some of Jacen and Luke's power!" Vestara cried, yelping in alarm as one assassin nearly cleaved her in two.

There was then a loud grating noise as several doors opened in the walls and yet more assassins, their eyes glowing menacingly, emerged from them, readying their own weapons as the assassin who had drained Luke and Jacen discarded his force pike and raised his hands. Two lightsabers then flew out of one of the alcoves, landing in his hands and flooding them all in red light as he ignited them.

"We're outnumbered here!" Lumiya cried, crushing one assassin with the Force while she decapitated two more, the battle raging all around them.

"Luke, move!" Mara urged, cutting down two assassins as they tried to kill her husband, but now she wss struggling, and she was trying to protect him while protecting herself too, and it was going to get them both killed.

"I'll be fine...take my saber." Luke whispered, his voice tired and groggy as he leaned against the wall.

"Protect him." Mara ordered Han as she took her husbands saber and engaged the increasingly dangerous assassins.

Ben was by Jacen's side, looking at him worriedly.

"Ben, focus. Look out!" Jacen cried, his tired eyes widening in alarm as the leader, the one with the lightsabers, trid to take Ben's head off.

Ben was already on the move, flipping into the air and summoning Jacen's blade to his other hand. Landing, mirroring his mother with a blue and green saber in hand, the two Skywalkers still standing launched themselves at the assassins while the others tried their hardest to fend the enemy off.

Jaina kicked one assassin in the chest and then cut another in two, before being beset by three at a time. Alema was there in the next instant, her blade cutting through one of the assassins and one of her darts taking out another. The two then charged a throng of assassins, who once again vanished, dancing around them sinisterly before repearring and trying to skewer them. Vestara cast lightning at a group that was hassling K'kruhk, giving the Whiphid a brief respite which enabled him to cut down another assassin. He nodded at Vestara, who then went pale as another group emerged from the alcoves.

"Beginning to think his retainer crew was rather large when they came here to honour Nihilus!" Lumiya hissed, nodding thankfully to Han as he had just shot an assassin with a bead on her in the head.

Her whip cleaved another assassin into pieces, but that was when the new batch arrived in earnest, adding themselves to the throng.

"They're too powerful!" Leia cried, blocking several attacks at once and managing to cut through one's chest.

"Where are they all coming from, how are they still alive?" Han demanded, shooting at two who were trying to get to him, Luke and Jacen.

The leader then bored of trying to attack Jaina, flipping towards the fallen Jedi and gathering the Force to him, prepared to finish his food source.

"Stop him!" K'kruhk yelled as he landed on an assassin that nearly killed Alema.

The one with the sabers swung his weapons, only to find them intercepted by a blue and green saber.

"Get away from them." Ben hissed angrily, shoving him back.

The two of them then went at it, the juiced up assassin hammering at Ben's defence. However, with him distracted, the other assassins were in more danger, as Mara and Lumiya, exchanging significant looks, joined forces, the two of them forming an impenetrable offence and defence, one of them taking one role and then switching when the other had a shot. Vestara used K'kruhk as a boost, leaping into the air and coming down on top of a further assassin, and after dispatching him she blasted another away with Force lightning. Jaina then grunted in shock as another assassin, this one revealing a single red blade from a holster on his back, fixed her with a beam and drained her too, dropping her to the ground.

"Not my daughter you son of a bitch!" Leia snarled as he moved to cleave his weakened victim's head off. Leia blocked the swing and then began to engage him in a vicious duel.

Alema was twirling erratically through the air, cutting down several more Sith all by herself, however she was now beset by a large group who were pushing at her, trapping her against the wall.

"Alema..." a tired Jaina moaned, and tried to figure out how she could help the Dark Jedi.

Ben slammed his blades into the leader's, forcing him off balance, and then an idea came to him.

"Jaina!" he yelled, blocking and springing backwards as the assassin leader nearly killed him once again.

K'kruhk then gave a Force cry, sending his and Alema's attackers staggering and allowing him to make short work of his own attackers, but they were still vastly outnumbered, and Alema was struggling, Leia and Ben were too focused on their own duels and Luke, Jacen and Jaina were out, and despite his best intentions, Han just wasn't shooting many people.

"What?" Jaina gasped wearily, and he sent her a Force flash into her mind, and a small smile came to her face.

Ben initiated a saber lock, the assassin growling as he started to hammer away at Ben's defences, pushing him back towards his fallen father and cousin, where Han was now being surrounded by assassins, pushing forward to end his and his charge's lives. Ben ducked out of the way of another blow before throwing Jacen's saber and then his own in a tight arc, taking down four of the throng that was trying to kill his family members, and he caught them in his hands and blocked another attack by the assassin leader just in time.

"Ben!" Luke exclaimed weakly, but Jacen, leaning his head against the wall, grinned.

"He's got a plan." He assured his uncle, as Ben shoved the assassin away.

Jaina, gathering what remained of her strength, flung her saber through the air, using the Force to guide its movements. The assassin leader had to turn to block it, and it was then that Ben struck, taking advantage of his distraction by cutting one arm off before stabbing both sabers into his neck and slicing outwards, sending his head to the ground.

"Impressive." Luke admitted and Jacen grinned.

"He learned from the best."

Ben then landed in the middle of an attacking throng, taking down a couple that were crowding Vestara and she grinned.

"You suit two sabers." She said playfully and he grinned at her as the two pushed forward together.

Lumiya took down another and hissed, they were soon going to be overwhelmed, as another group of meant to be long dead assassins, another wielding lightsabers, entered the fray from the alcoves.

"Where the hell are they coming from?" Mara demanded angrily, blocking a vicious murder attempt while Lumiya crushed her attacker.

Jacen hissed as he saw the others close to being overwhelmed, even though his mother had just killed the one threatening his sister.

"Alright, new plan. Artoo!" he gasped into the comm, and he received a whistle in return.

"Get here now!" he ordered and the droid whistled triumphantly.

The group of defenders were being forced back by the sheer number of assassins. Forming a shield around Jaina, who Han had dragged over to the others, Jacen and Luke, the group was running out of room to manoeuvre as the assassins pressed their attack.

A blast then blew apart several assassins, distracting the others as they turned to see what had attacked them.

The _Falcon_ was floating outside the mausoleum, its lower cannon blasting away at the assassins. And that was their cue to leave.

"Good work Artoo, take the ship up!" Jacen ordered and the droid beeped happily.

"Take that Sith dogs! Oh my, I don't know what came over me, why did I say that?" Threepio asked in shock as Artoo tittered in amusement.

The ship flew a bit further up, and the group moved. Alema grabbed Jaina in a Force grip and threw the now unconscious girl through the air and up onto the ramp of the ship. The Twi'lek then slashed down two more assassins, putting on a burst of speed and making for the exit. Several assassins pursued, and K'kruhk moved, creating a Force wave that blew several off their feet with a yelp. He gestured at their collected materials, and with a burst of concentration, brought it to a fairly gentle stop on the ship. He then cut down two more attackers before hoisting Luke over his shoulder, while Lumiya did the same with Jacen, grumbling as she did so as she turned off her whip.

"Force pushes now!" Mara yelled and as one they released their power, scattering the recovering assassins and making a break for it. Leia jumped onto the ship first, and K'kruhk threw Luke, still slightly awake, to her and she caught him and lowered him into the ship. Mara then jumped up and helped guide in Jacen as Lumiya, Vestara and Ben turned to face the oncoming mass of incensed assassins.

"Time to go I think." K'kruhk said, leaping to safety.

"Couldnt agree more." Lumiya said, making her own escape.

"Wait." Ben said, and Vestara, their bond telling her what he planned, nodded as he threw both sabers. Giving them a burst of speed with the Force as he guided them, the sabers cleaved a massive chunk of rock from the entrance, slamming down on some assassins. Ben indicated for Vestara to go first, and as she leapt to the safety of the ship, he caught his sabers and followed suit, landing catlike in the hold.

"Gun it Artoo!" he yelled, and the ramp clicked shut, and with a final burst of speed the _Falcon_ shot for space, leaving the deadly assassins of Katarr far behind as they made for safety.

XX

"I'm afraid we missed them again Saber Khai." Dredity reported, and Khai snarled in frustration.

"Her corruption is getting worse, I can sense it, her loyalty to Lumiya, her feelings for the Jedi brat! This is intolerable! We need to find her." He snarled, and Sazat nodded.

"Of course my lord, but we don't know where they're going." He pointed out, and Khai, gnashing his teeth, closed his eyes as he tried to divine their eventual location.

And then, to his great surprise, it seemed as if something moved a blinker from his visions, as suddenly he could see it as clear as day. Laughing, he didn't notice the cackle that echoed in the back of the darkness as he opened his eyes.

"Check our records for places covered with graves that have any tie to the dark side in any way." He ordered, and Dredity did so, examining the archives.

"None, but hang on, this looks promising. A moon of Bogden, a planet in the Inner Rim, by the name of Kohlma is the site of thousands of graves, the origin of which are unknown, and according to a Jedi survey the place is steeped in the dark side." She reported and Khai grinned in a predatory manner.

"That's it, that's where they are going. Set a course for the Bogden system! They won't escape me this time. And then, Vestara will either see sense...or I'll kill her." He vowed as the _Schism _jumped once again.

XX

Once safely in hyperspace on the way away from Katarr, Luke, Jacen and Jaina had been ordered to bed to recover their strength. During that time, K'kruhk had split off the others to try and discover anything that might relate to or indicate what Abeloth was, but they had found nothing.

"The thing is, those assassins nearly killed Luke and the others, and she will be much more powerful, we need a way to counteract that power." Lumiya said as she and Alema studied one of the Kesh holocrons to see if it had anything of use.

"Loathe though I am to admit it, she's right, we need more information." Mara said, but K'kruhk didn't look convinced.

"T'ra is barely holding on as it is, we're running out of time and I don't want to condemn her to death if it can be avoided." He said, looking at another scroll fruitlessly.

"We won't condemn her K'kruhk, but unless we get more information we're condemning the entire galaxy." Leia said kindly and he growled.

"Well we haven't got any to find!" he snapped in frustration, but he then felt Luke behind him, spreading his irritatingly calm aura through the room.

"It'll be fine K'kruhk. We'll get there in time." He said, sitting down beside Han, who looked at him questioningly.

"You ok kid?" he asked and Luke nodded.

"Yeah, still a little pooped but my powers have recovered. I never want that to happen again." He said, but before the others could say anything they were disturbed by a sleepy looking Jacen and Jaina entering the room.

"Look on the bright side, you got to see how awesomely I've been training your son's saber skills." Jacen said brightly.

K'kruhk cleared his throat nonchalantly.

"With a little help from K'kruhk of course." Jacen said, bowing his head and K'kruhk cracked a small smile in appreciation.

"Yeah, no denying the kid was pretty good against that assassin dude. Just like you were princess." Han said before Leia got stroppy and she smiled.

"Alright, so if we need more information, where do we get it?" Mara asked, and Alema pointed to the scroll she was reading.

"This place? It's meant to have a large library stored under it that might help, and it's a cold world so it ought to be well preserved." She reasoned and Lumiya read it, a flicker of fear passing across her face as she did so.

"Lumiya?" Jaina asked and the Sith looked right at K'kruhk.

"It's Odacer-Faustin." She said weakly and K'kruhk's eyes widened, but before they could elaborate Ben and Vestara charged in, looking triumphant.

"We've got it." Vestara said breathlessly, and Mara looked most displeaded.

"You better not have!" she snapped and Ben rolled his eyes.

"Not that!" he cried in exasperation, making Vestara look at him curiously.

"Got what?" Jaina asked, and Ben grinned.

"What Abeloth is." He said, and the two began to explain.

"We were looking at one of the scrolls from Thule, another document explaining the origins of their goddess. However, it turned out to be a passage on the Celestials, the ones who built the galaxy, and we found more on them, and combined them with the Sith's accounts of Abeloth." Vestara began.

"The Celestials were a great and powerful race, immensely strong in the Force, acting like the ancient Jedi, in balance with it, not adhering to either side. However, one Celestial wasn't like the others. There was a family of Celestials, who had profound ideas on the Force, that it belonged divided rather than united. There were four of them, a Father, a Mother, a Son and a Daughter. The Son fell to the dark side, as the Daughter kept to the light. The Celestials were taken aback by this, but allowed it, after all, Mother and Father apparently kept them behaving. There was a problem though." Ben continued, and Vestara once more took over.

"They were a powerful and fairly well off family, and they had a Servant to clean and keep their home, a travelling Tho Yor, functioning. Servant however, envied them. She had always wanted Father for her own, and believed that Son and Daughter ought to have been her children. She convinced herself that Father loved her. In order for them to be together, Servant manipulated Son and Daughter into fighting each other. While they fought and the parents were distracted, Servant attempted to kill Mother. She was repulsed, but Servant used her considerable powers to blast Mother into the way of a blast between Son and Daughter, and she was killed. Father then condemned her, as did Son and Daughter, as she had forced them to kill their Mother. Servant was shocked that Father didn't automatically love her once his wife was killed. She believed he had fallen in love with her, and that he would be pleased that they would be together."

Ben grinned darkly.

"Only he wasn't. He, Son and Daughter used their powers to imprison the considerable powers of Servant and brought her before the Celestials. Shocked that one of their species could act like that, her actions nearly ripped apart their consortium. Their council decided to take action immediately. Realising they couldn't build and lead the galaxy if they could fall prey to such petty emotions as jealousy, they decided to purify themselves so they could give the galaxy the leadership it needed. And due to her actions, Servant would have to be destroyed. It was then that Father had the idea; they would make Servant the very personification of everything they believed to be wrong. She would be punished eternally, made to become as ugly on the outside as she was inside. And so, in some bizarre Force ritual, the Celestials cleansed themselves of everything we now consider to be the dark side, funnelling it into Servant."

"They then realised their mistake. In their quest for purity, they drained themselves of the emotions that meant they could confront Servant. Servant, filled with an entire species worth of dark side emotions, thoughts and feelings (other than Son's, he was determined to prove himself right so kept his power), was now much more powerful than any of the other Celestials. Fearful of this thing they had created, the Celestials combined the last of their strength and imprisoned her in a wall of light, and then shunted her to Father's Tho Yor where they could keep an eye on her and taunt her as she was powerless to escape. Desperate to keep Servant, or the Sacrifice as she was now known, under control, the Celestials had the Killiks create Centerpoint and at Daughter's recommendation, created the Maw, all designed to keep the Sacrifice entombed so she could never again threaten the galaxy. Kicking and screaming, the Sacrifice was abandoned on a planet in the Maw, with the theory that the Maw and Centerpoint would keep her trapped for eternity, while Father and his family were banished for allowing all this to happen in the first place." Vestara continued.

Ben then picked up the story once more.

"Unfortunately it didn't work like that. From her prison, she realised she now had greater power in the dark side than anything else. Unable to use it before, she now had access to the dark emotions of the galaxy now that she was free of Father. Determined to get revenge on the ones who had wronged her, she began to drain the galaxy of it's dark side energy. Everything bad, even someone like Ves blasting Force lightning, creates a tiny drop in the Force, a drop she's been feeding off of for millennia. Every bad event, every death, fight, war, all of it caused chaos and pain for her to feed on, caused darkness to sustain her. Every time she fed it was like takeout, every dark event being drained by her for over a million years, increasing her already significant power day by day for over a million years." Ben finished his part of the story, and Vestara finished it off.

"And of course there have been periods that she nearly escaped, wars that fed her massive appetite, wars that were stopped at the very last minute. And so she has persisted for over a million years, planning her revenge on the ones who wronged her, and is out to prove to Father that she is loved and not despised like he said she was. She believes herself to be a beautiful goddess, who has been sucking the darkness out of the galaxy so that when she finally escapes she can proclaim herself a goddess and nothing will stop her. And considering this century..." she began.

"Along with other periods, such as the First Schism, the Great Sith War and its aftermath and the New Sith Wars, has been one of the bloodiest in galactic history." K'kruhk exclaimed in realisation.

"Not to mention it took out Centerpoint, meaning Sinkhole is now trying to keep her on the planet with insufficient power all by itself." Han added.

"All of which means a galaxy that served her dinner piece by piece is now suddenly an all you can eat buffet, and she has nothing to stop her gorging on us all. She now has the power, either through her draining all the evil, chaos and pain in the galaxy for millions of years or through Centerpoint being destroyed, to finally break free of her prison and attack the galaxy. What do you think?" Ben asked, as he and Vestara handed round the documents they had read to form their opinion.

"It all makes sense. Scary sense." Jacen said, his face ashen.

"A most elaborate theory. You believe Abeloth was the Servant, the Sacrifice?" K'kruhk asked, and Vestara nodded irritably.

"We thought we made that clear. Yes, we think that, and then, the Celestials stuck everything bad into her, and stuck her on a rock in the middle of nowhere where she has been able to feed off millennia worth of bad news as a result of her actions. And now, with nothing to stop her extending her influence, her power's grown inexorably. And now she's nearly free." Vestara said, and the entire room was quiet.

"These scrolls back up what they're saying unfortunately. There are a few leaps of faith but from Abeloth's account of her past to the Sith along with their own research into her corroborate the story. Ben and Vestara's theory makes the most sense we have ever heard about Abeloth. The story makes sense, the theory is sound. And the pieces finally all fit." K'kruhk said breathlessly, and Mara raised a hand to stop him before he prattled any further.

"Alright. So, to recap...according to the records taken by the Sith on Thule and by Abeloth's own account, backed up by the other sources we have, we now finally know what Abeloth is." She said, and Ben looked at her, slightly put out.

"What, you don't think we're right?" he whined, and she nodded.

"No. I do think you're right, and so does the Force, I can feel it. You're right about all of this sweetie. You pair's theory has finally identified her for us." She said, and Han looked grimly at them all.

"Yeah. And if all of what you reckoned is true, we aren't just dealing with some nasty Force powered monster with an ego problem." He said, and the room was silent as he finished his terrible warning, his breath hitching as the terrible truth was finally admitted.

"We're dealing with the dark side itself. Abeloth is literally the dark side incarnate."

**Hello again! Told you you'd be getting a bumper update, and this chapter truly is a bumper.**

**Now, while I have been very vocal about my dislike of what they made Abeloth in the end, thinking about it, it was actually quite a good idea overall, I was just opposed to it because I was mad at Clone Wars.**

**So, things are bad. The psychosis is starting to take victims, political intrigues are afoot on Coruscant, the Tribe are making their moves in the galaxy, infighting among the Sith is growing, Collonzas has finally struck, as has Aralani, the Jedi are being restrained and Khai is hot on the heels of his daughter, as the One Sith are also entering the fray now as the galaxy hurtles further out of control. And to top it all off, we have finally found what Abeloth is. Im surprised Ben and Vestara could tear themselves away from each other long enough to figure it out.**

**Right, this will be updated tomorrow with the next entry crawl as we have just reached the end of episode two of our saga! Which means, in terms of length (not measured by words but by sections) we are now a third of the way through Fate of the Force!**

**So, I will update tomorrow, but please please please review, I will be very grateful so please review and I hope to hear from you soon!**


	18. Episode III: Entry Crawl

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars**

**Star Wars: Fate of the Force**

**Episode III: Confrontation**

_The Galactic Alliance is struggling to survive. Political ambition, both from within and from the Empire is threatening the increasingly fragile galactic coalition, and Chief Ak'la and her supporters are hard pressed to stop the Alliance disintegrating under the numerous threats ripping it apart. However little do the Alliance know that their problems are a sign of a larger threat. Along with the Alliance, the Chiss, Hapans and Mandalorians, their realms ripped apart by war, are in a desperate battle for survival, not realising their troubles are a symptom of a much greater evil. Deep within the Maw, the dark side Celestial Abeloth, a monster of terrible power, her long imprisonment finally ending, has decided that her time has come and that it is time for her to rule the galaxy as a goddess._

_As the Skywalker clan, in league with the dark siders Lady Lumiya, her new apprentice Vestara Khai and the insane Alema Rar, travel to various locations in the hope that the past will hold the key to their future, the power of the dark side is growing. Abeloth senses her time has come, and now that she has scented victory nothing will stop her until she finally frees herself of her prison. She awaits on her planet, her strength growing by the day, awaiting her inevitable confrontation with the most powerful Force users in the galaxy. Determined to destroy those who would harm her and remake the galaxy in her image, Abeloth, her deadly power causing fear even in the Grand Master and the Dark Lord themselves, who has been preparing for this moment for millennia, has finally perceived that her time has come._

_While the Skywalkers and their allies prepare to mount a desperate mission against the evil Abeloth, the power of the Sith is growing. Though split into powerful and deadly factions, the various Sith are all advancing the aims of the dark side in their own way as each Dark Lord claims for power, ripping apart the galaxy all the more. The One Sith, Lost Tribe and Rule of Two are all vying for power in a deadly tug of war, that threatens to plunge the galaxy into chaos. With the Sith focused on stopping each other and destroying the Jedi, and the Jedi worried about the growing power of the dark side and the return of the Sith, they all fail to realise that their actions are fuelling the power of the true threat and could very well condemn the galaxy to the ravages of Abeloth forever..._

**And here we are with the start of Episode III! Told you this was a bumper update but now I'm afraid Fate of the Force will be left alone for a while as I focus on other stories that need written. What's more I now have a job which means I wont be able to write anything on a Sunday night but not to worry, least I'm getting paid right? **

**Tonight I'll further refine my plan for the rest of the story (believe it or not I dont just make it up as I go along), and its most likely about to increase from the fifteen pages it is currently, and I'll also look for a pretty picture to use as the story pic.  
**

**However, since it will be a while until the next update, here's a trailer of sorts for the next episode in our saga!**

*** The dark side is rising in the galaxy, and two confrontations a long time in the making will come about**

*** Tenel Ka finds herself an unlikely ally, however temporary their alliance is**

*** Daala makes a return to form, she always did like to shoot things**

*** An old adventure of Han's had new relevance and a couple of cameos can be expected**

*** It might not be the first Death Star, but the situation is the same**

*** Lumiya's minions, Collonzas and Nazarn both become much greater threats**

*** We have a trip down memory lane**

*** Ben's shares a power with a distant heir**

*** Lumiya gains a fearsome new ally and shows her strength as the true Dark Lord**

*** Darth Oracle has a vision that changes everything**

*** The anti-slavery movement takes an interesting new turn**

*** And finally, one of the conflicts in the galaxy gets a major morale boost  
**

**So, that's a little taster of what is to come, so until next time, please read and leave lots of reviews!**


End file.
